Strict requirements being imposed on Australian dealers would limit the car outlets nationwide that will be able to sell GM Holden's new hybrid sedan - the mostly electric-powered Volt.

According to John Elsworth, head of Holden's Sales and Marketing Division, local dealers will be carefully vetted by the carmaker and chief requirement would be a level two grade in the Green Stamp Plus Accreditation to seriously qualify.

"The accreditation assures customers that the dealer takes its environmental responsibility seriously," Mr Elsworth was quoted as Tuesday by online automotive news site Car Advice.

Dealers are expected to submit a solid environmental management blueprint in selling Australia's version of the Volt, which earlier debuted in the United States and other key markets as the Chevrolet Volt, the Holden executive said.

The whole plan should incorporate "recycling, efficient energy usage and reduction in the use and disposal of toxic chemicals," as important points in the local marketing of Holden's major initiative in the country's emerging clean energy sub-sector.

Once the Volt officially rolls out from Australian dealers late this year, only 49 dealers will be allowed to sell the new environment-friendly vehicle, which Holden said will carry a sticker price of at least $60,000.

The bulk of the Volt showrooms will be concentrated on Victoria and New South Wales, where 18 and 11 stores will be all spruced up to service the sales and after-sales needs of the car's prospective buyers.

A number of dealers from Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia were also awarded franchises by Holden, all of which are set to accept deliveries of the hybrid units by October 2011 at the latest, Holden said.

In Geelong, car dealer Winter & Taylor, which won the exclusive license to sell the Volt in the area, has ramped up its preparation to re-configure its existing dealership facilities that would adopt to the basic requirements of the electric vehicle, The Geelong Advertiser said in a report on Tuesday.

Apart from retooling its store amenities and providing training to its staff, Winter & Taylor has had ordered for the setting up of a dedicated charging station on its dealership site, an important part of its services that was meant to "speed up the time it takes to charge," the Volt.

Holden said that each unit takes only six to eight hours of charging, connected on a standard electric outlet, to achieve full running capacity, which in turn will take a driver to up to 80-kilometre stretch of unhindered travelling.

Once the power juice starts drying up, the back-up petrol engine installed on every Volt unit will automatically kick-in, which will then re-charge the running car and give it more muscle to cover 500-kilometre more road in a 1.4-litre fuel fill.

Holden has commenced taking pre-orders of Volt in May and has primed up the vehicle for 12-week long road tests in the streets of Melbourne, both of which have provided positive impacts so far, the local carmaker said.

"We would urge all customers to contact their dealer in the first instance if they want to secure one of the first Volts when they arrive in Australia," Mr Elsworth was quoted by the Australian Associated Press (AAP) as saying in an official news release.