Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi of America, has posted a clarification of his thoughts about the Chevy Volt on Audi USA News’s Facebook page. He wrote: “Let me clearly state that in my opinion, electric vehicles will be part of the future transportation of society – but only if we go about it the right way. In fact, Audi is working on electric vehicles.”

He says he doesn’t recall calling the Volt “a car for idiots,” and explains, “It was certainly not my intention to leave the impression that I’m opposed to electrical vehicles, and if I was unclear on either of those points then I need to eat crow.”

Mr. de Nysschen does, however, still question the feasibility of the Volt as a concept. He explains, “The 50 percent or so price increase that the Volt represents over a similar gasoline car cannot be offset through the savings from reduced fuel consumption.”

He adds: “The only way to offset the extreme premium for the Volt is through taxpayer-funded subsidies. So I question if that makes economic sense.”

The original post:

“No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a Corolla. So there are not enough idiots who will buy it.”

Those were the words of Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi of America, who recently spoke (quite candidly) to Lawrence Ulrich in MSN Autos about the Chevrolet Volt. Early estimates for the price of the Volt are around $40,000, and Mr. de Nysschen said that he doesn’t see many people paying that much for a car that competes with small compacts, which top out at around $25,000. He called the the Chevy plug-in hybrid “a car for idiots.”

Mr. de Nysschen was clearly making a point, as Mr. Ulrich, a frequent contributor to The New York Times’ Automobiles section, goes on to explain:

De Nysschen expressed frustration with regulators and policy makers, saying the public has been hoodwinked into believing that E.V.’s are the only answer to global warming. The U.S. government, he said, is pouring billions of dollars into E.V. technology, yet diesel technology could deliver a more immediate and dramatic decrease in global-warming emissions. And the man knows of what he speaks: Modern diesels already power half of Audi’s cars in Europe and have helped Audi dominate recent runnings of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Diesels have been shown to emit 25 percent less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines, while using 25 to 35 percent less fuel.

Audi and Volkswagen have never been abashed about their push for diesel. Stefan Jacoby, the president and chief executive of the VW Group of America, has also criticized proponents of electric vehicles and hybrid technology.

At any rate, we can’t wait to hear what Bob Lutz, G.M.’s notoriously garrulous vice chairman for advertising, communications and marketing, has to say about this latest salvo from Audi.