General Motors US Marketing Vice President Joel Ewanick and the 2011 Chevy Volt electric vehicle with extended range capability at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, California, USA, July 27, 2010. (EPA)

DETROIT, July 28 (Reuters) – The highly anticipated electric-powered Chevrolet Volt will carry a $41,000 starting price before tax credits, $5,000 more than the top-selling sedan from General Motors' luxury Cadillac brand.

GM said on Tuesday it has begun taking orders for the Volt and would also provide a leasing option for the vehicle as it launches in a handful of US markets starting with California.

''Every day we've been asked a single question: How much will it cost?'' said GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick on a conference call to announce the pricing.

GM executives, including former Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, had previously indicated the Volt would be priced near $40,000.

For analysts and green car enthusiasts, the biggest question surrounding the Volt has been its price and profitability given the cost of the lithium-ion battery pack supplied by Korea's LG Chem and the engineering resources that GM devoted to the project. GM launched the Volt development project four years ago, in part to shake an association with gas-guzzling trucks and to show it could compete with the likes of Toyota Motor Corp on hybrid technology.

By setting the retail price at $41,000, GM opted to price the first-of-its-kind Volt in the category of luxury vehicles and higher-priced sports cars. The top-selling Cadillac CTS has a price starting at $35,165.

The Corvette Coupe, the most expensive vehicle in the mass-market Chevy brand, starts at just under $49,000. With leather seats and other options, including a rear-view camera, the Volt will cost $44,600.