2011 Chevrolet Volt Prices: GM first projected the Volt’s base price at around $30,000, but has since upped the estimate to $35,000. And some sources believe the final tab will be more like $40,000, rather steep for a compact Chevrolet. Why so much? Apparently because GM underestimated the cost of the high-tech batteries and other Volt-specific components. The wild card is whether the company might be willing to take a loss by subsidizing the price down to the original $30K target--and if so, for how long.