According to a report, General Motors could lose $9,000 on every Chevrolet Bolt sold as it targets the electric car boom.

Bloomberg asserts that the huge potential losses accounting for almost one-third of the Bolt’s retail price are being accepted by General Motors as it prepares for deliveries of its first affordable all-electric vehicle late this year.

The report claims that many automakers are being prompted to make EVs because of California’s tough clean-air rules and its mandate for all automakers operating in the state to sell non-polluting vehicles. According to staff projections from the California Air Resources Board, some manufacturer’s clean vehicles may have to comprise 40 per cent of their total Californian sales by the year 2030, in order to meet strict greenhouse-gas emissions regulations.

Speaking with Bloomberg, president of consulting company CarLab, Eric Noble, says most EVs on the market lose on average $10,000 for the company with every sale. In 2014 for example, FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne admitted that $14,000 was being lost on every Fiat 500e built.

It is thought that GM will attract new customers with the affordable all-electric Bolt and in the future, could build electric pickups and SUVs where profitability numbers and demand are much greater than small hatchbacks.

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