Remember the time when speculations were rife that General Motors would launch its electric car Volt in India? And then things cooled off and GM clarified that the company had no plans of bringing the car in India. Yeah, all these things happened quite some time back, and our memories of Volt are quite hazy at the best. But here is something that will refresh them.

General Motors has now revealed the base price of its Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in car capable of driving about 40 miles on battery power without using gasoline, at $41,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit. GM had tried to keep the prices of the Volt under some very crisp wraps since it was introduced as a concept more than three years ago. Pre-bookings of the Volt have already started and it goes on sale in November 2010.

Now here is the problem. Toyota Prius falls in the price range of $23,560 to $35,000, depending upon options, and the upcoming Nissan Leaf is likely to be priced around $32,780. Considering the prices of these two cars, GM Volt seems to be at a price disadvantage. GM would tackle that problem by leasing the Volt for as low as $350 a month.

Joel Ewanick, GM’s vice president for U.S. marketing, said “the Volt’s 1.4-liter, range-extending engine makes it a better value”. Nissan’s Leaf is expected to have a range of about 100 miles on a fully charged battery, but it does not have a backup power source. “The Volt’s engine, which will require premium fuel, will give the car a range of about more than 100 miles” Ewanick added.

Both the car makers are counting on the government’s $7,500 tax credit for plug-in cars to help boost the sales. GM plans to manufacture at least 10,000 Volts by the end of 2011 and 30,000 in 2012. Nissan Leaf is already sold out for this year, with 13,000 preorders in the United States.

While GM is not expecting to churn profits from early generations of the vehicle, it is expecting the Volt to establish the company’s reputation among environmentally conscious consumers and demonstrate the capabilities of battery-powered vehicles.

Initially, only 600 Chevrolet dealers in GM’s initial markets will be able to sell the Volt. And people who live outside these areas would have to buy the car, but they would not be able to lease it until sales are expanded nationwide by 2012. General Motors has limited the Volt’s introduction to six states and Washington, so that the dealership personnel could be trained properly.

“This vehicle comes with the highest degree of training requirements of any vehicle launched in the history of General Motors,” Ewanick said.

The Volt is connected to a standard 120-volt outlet to charge its 400-pound battery. And what’s more, each charge would cost owners just about $1 to $1.50, depending on electricity costs. GM is offering a warranty for eight years or 100,000 miles, three years longer than what GM offers for the gasoline engines. Nissan has said it would offer a similar warranty on the Leaf’s battery.

GM has revealed that the Volt would feature a built-in navigation system, hands-free telephone capabilities and other features not normally offered as standard equipment, as well as five free years of the company’s OnStar communication service.

Well, GM India is not giving any hints as to whether the Volt will be launched in the country or not. Hope Lives, though.