 General Motors held a ceremony at its Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Plant on November 30 , 2010 , to introduce the first Chevrolet Volt off the assembly line . The first Volt built for retail sale was earmarked for display at General Motors ' Heritage Center museum in Sterling Heights , Michigan . The second unit was offered at a public auction , with an opening bid of US $ 50 @,@ 000 and it was won by Rick Hendrick who paid US $ 225 @,@ 000 . The proceeds went to fund math and sciences education in Detroit through the Detroit Public Schools Foundation . Deliveries to retail customers in the United States began in mid December 2010 . Volt deliveries began in Canada in September 2011 . The first deliveries of the Chevrolet Volt in Europe took place in November 2011 . The European version of the Volt , the Opel Ampera , was released to retail customers in Europe in February 2012 . Deliveries of the right @-@ hand drive Vauxhall Ampera in the UK began in May 2012 . The Holden Volt was released in Australia in December 2012 . 
