Driving the Volt
By Pete Savagian
Engineering Director, GM Hybrid Powertrain Engineering
The public’s appetite for information on the Volt never ceases to amaze me. The concept obviously struck a chord, although I probably shouldn’t be surprised; I was one of the chief engineers for our last battery electric vehicle - the EV1. The public’s reaction to the Volt is somewhat similar, although on an even larger scale, to the reaction we received when we built the EV1 - the first modern electric vehicle.
The EV1 was one of the most technologically advanced vehicles for its time with a passionate, loyal group of customers. We learned an awful lot from the EV1 program, knowledge that’s being put to use right now on the development of the Chevy Volt. The fact is, reducing our dependence on petroleum requires vehicles that provide the petroleum-free benefits we know electric vehicle drivers are passionate about, but we also need to offer the flexibility to be able to drive hundreds of miles at a time between fill-ups. People expect that type of freedom every time they take the wheel.
We believe an Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV) like the Volt is that kind of vehicle. E-REVs are electric vehicles that provide full performance on electric power alone and only engage energy from the gas in the tank after the battery is discharged. Based on our studies, a vehicle like this offers tremendous potential to reduce petroleum use and emissions.
Earlier today at the Hybrid Vehicle Technologies 2008 Symposium in San Diego, Calif., I shared some results from our analysis of what an E-REV could do in the hands of regular drivers. We used real world data from the Regional Travel Survey conducted by the Southern California Association of Governments over the past few years. The survey measured the daily driving habits of over 600 commuters in the Los Angeles area, one of the world’s busiest, most congested driving regions.
What we learned was pretty telling. If everyone in this study drove a vehicle like the Volt:
- Sixty-four percent of the drivers in this study would never use a single drop of gas during their daily travels.
- On average, Volt drivers commuting less than 75 miles a day would use 1/5th the fuel compared to drivers using a conventionally-powered vehicle.
- Drivers of the Volt would have 70 percent fewer initial engine starts than conventionally-powered vehicles. Initial engine starts are a large factor in the total emissions produced.
Please take a look at the presentation, “Driving the Volt.” I think you’ll agree, the potential of the E-Flex technology to improve every day driving is real and something we can all get excited about. I’m excited about this and it is this potential that “drives the Volt” team each and every day.
Thanks,
Pete
- Posted in Cars & Trucks, Volt
itsaboutchoice
Love the slides. Nice to see GM admitting the EV1 was pretty nice. Too bad there was some bad decisions regarding the EV1, but that’s in the past. Going forward, the Volt is the right direction if configured as an ICE battery car not Fuel cell battery.
Suggestion, when there are presentations like this, if it can not be videoed, please capture the audio, page number the slides and have the presenter reference slide number while giving the presentation. I would be great to at least hear it.
I also did not miss the postion of the Volt on the chart showing possible availability at the end of 2009. YES!!! You’re doing the right thing.
Paul Bauerle
Pete,
Great presentation. I especially like the plan to enable Recharging with the existing infrastructure - 110 volt, 15 amp service, without an expensive, custom charger.
However, I’m sure some of your intended customers would want the ability to charge from a small scale alternative energy source, such as a small photovoltaic array or wind turbine. Maybe the option to charge from DC 24 or 12 volts (or directly from a solar panel using maximum power point tracking, as I suggested almost 2 years ago)? Also allow the 110 volt charger to accept a “modified” sine wave output available from smaller inverters used in these types of low cost, small scale renewable energy sources. Allow the customer to program in a configuration to limit maximum current or power draw from the charging circuitry to match what is available, if it is less than 15 amps. Thank you very much for considering these suggestions.
teidsmore
Congratulations on your progress to date. You guys really seem to be the driving force behind “E-REVs”. I’d like to also offer a friendly reminder that in LA half the people embrace conspicuous consumption with out shame. I hope you guys keep the idea of a slightly larger E-REV SAAB sedan and coupe on your mind to avoid possibly having to re-engineer components for such a vehicle later on. This vehicle would be a hit here in California where petroleum is out and luxury is in. Thanks.
Ted
The presentation is very interesting. One question that popped into my head near the end. It says the total range is 300 miles. I assume that is without plugging in or refueling (gas). When I take my Bonneville on highway trips, I can usually go 400+ miles without refueling. Now, I’m sure the 300 miles will use hardly any gas compared to my car, but am I correct that for highway trips I will need to stop at least once every 300 miles for gas?
Gereon Langlitz (Germany)
Currently we are paying 7.60 $ per Gallon (1.38 euros per Liter). We urgently need the Chevy Volt over here in Europe, either!
Schmeltz
Pete:
Excellent analysis, and thanks for sharing these findings. Something I thought would be neat would be to compare these numbers to the real-world numbers that become available when Volt-mules are tested using the parameters of these stated driving conditions.
Keep up the good work!
bluebaby
Here we go again with the volt, by the time you say it will come junk toyota will have sold another million cars, come on how much longer?
if it does happen willit have bluetooth or will it be another 3 years?
thanks
Gary Dikkers
Mr Savagian,
You’re right, we absolutely need to find a way to drive petroleum free.
But what if lithium proves to be just as critical a resource as petroleum? Is GM aware of the analysis showing that a dependence on lithium may be no improvement over our addiction to oil? See The Trouble with Lithium
I have no idea how credible the Meridian analysis is, but if you download and read the entire White Paper, it looks sound. If true, it’s troubling. If nothing else, a shortage of lithium would mean the price of Li-ion batteries might become so expensive that few will be able to afford a Volt.
Surely GM is aware of the possibility and has done its own research. What do GM economists and researchers have to say about the future availability of lithium if all major car makers robustly push into developing Extended-Range Electric Vehicles (E-REV) and plan to rely on Li-ion batteries to bring their R-REVs to market at an affordable price point?
Regards,
Gary Dikkers
Rick Rohde
I too cannot wait til Volt becomes a reality. My daily commute is approximately 100 miles a day roundtrip and would love to see the Volt come online. Are you goining to have one of those real test preproduction test programs like with the Equinox fuelcell program? I’d like to get a chance to see how much better it does than my new Solstice GXP.
Nick
In my opinion, electric vehicles don’t save much fuel because the utility power plant is burning fuel to make the electricity for the car (not to mention the losses in transmission to get the electricity to your home). All those high MPG figures neglect the fact that customers will have a huge electric bill at the end of the month. Gas-electric hybrids do save fuel because of the fact that the engine is shut down at idle and regenerative breaking.
What am I missing?
Kevin R
The Volt gets over 300 miles when using the ICE to charge the batteries. The small gas tank will keep the cars batteries charged for up to 640 miles!!! That beats yours and my Bonnevilles! INFO HERE:
http://www.gm-volt.com/chevy-volt-faqs/
Q: What is the driving range of the Chevy Volt?
A: The car is being designed to drive up to 40 miles on pure electricity stored in the battery from overnight home charging. After that the gas engine will kick in and allow the car to be driven up to 640 miles on a full tank of gas.
Joe
Hi all. Awesome progress on the Volt.
And with data like that, I can’t possibly imagine why anybody wouldn’t want to buy a Volt.
Having said that, I have a request directly for Mr. Bob Lutz (if someone would be so kind as to alert him to this)- also, I realize this is a little off topic;
But what’s up with the ‘crock of sh*t statement’ you made? I agree with you, but - why say something like that to a bunch of reporters? I can’t say that was an exactly smart move…The quote is making the rounds on the internet - and I was hoping you could post up a blog entry attempting to rectify or at least explain the situation from your point of view, Mr. Lutz. Because a few media outlets are portraying you as a senile old man (which you most certainly are NOT - were I to judge) making evil remarks that correspond directly with the Company’s feelings. (or, if you don’t feel the need to - and perhaps you have the time, - emailing me personally would be awesome)
Thanks so much Bob! And again, awesome job on the Volt, guys!!!! I’ll be looking into one as soon as they’re out!!!
Uday
Count me one of those waiting for the Volt. So far all the statements in press indicate q3/q4 2010. I would love to hear about how you are doing with the engineering challenges and success thus far.
-Uday
edvard
I’ve heard the whole argument about how electric vehicles will supposedly cause a strain on the electrical grid and how that this will offset the cost of fuel.
This in more ways than one is missing the point of why it is more immediately important to switch to alternative propulsion systems.
The most important is less to do with cost and more to do with insured diplomatic health. The difference between a car being powered by gasoline versus power from an electric plant is that unlike the car, the power plant can be powered by any number of available sources: coal, nuclear, natural gas,hydroelectric, and even less conventional yet rapidly developing sources such as solar and wind power. In coal’s example alone, the US has an enormous supply of it- enough for an estimated 200 years even with adjusted energy requirement thrown in. What’s more is that it can be burned cleaner than ever before with new technologies to improve upon even today’s emissions. Nuclear energy is yet another source which has come a long way with continued advancements in safety and more standardized designs.
So in other words, while the extraction of petroleum relies on how well we get along with X number of countries, it also means that we as a country would be increasingly reliant on international economic stability and universally positive diplomatic ties. Relying on such parameters is entirely unrealistic.
On the converse, depending more on internally developed energy sources such as those I mentioned would reach the goal of becoming independent. As many have pointed out, if every single person in the USA were to go out and buy a Chevy Volt and plug them in, then yes- there is a possibility that the grid might have some issues- which I seriously doubt- But that isn’t going to happen. The Volt is going to be over 30k according to the latest things I’ve read. That knocks out quite a few people right there. Secondly, people don’t dump cars overnight for new ones all of a sudden. So when the Volt comes to market, it will be just like any other process and become slowly adapted my the consumer. If there starts to become a problem for the electrical grid, then those companies will make adjustments just as they have had to do all along.
Look at it this way. The argument that introducing a new electrically powered product as a threat to the grid is sort of like saying that back in the 1950’s, the introduction of TV sets would have done the same. If you look at the adoption of TV sets in Post WW2 America, it was immense. What’s more is that these sets were powered by banks of vacuum tubes, as were most other electronic entertainment forms: Radios, Stereos and so on. In fact, back then, almost all appliances used way more power than today’s far more efficient versions. Of course the population grew, but as mentioned- the “grid” was adjusted to cope with the capacity.
So in conclusion, the grid people refer to as under threat from the Volt is an invalid argument because it assumes that the electrical system is unchangeable, inflexible, and incapable of handling a new product that will not be adopted overnight.
Steve
Sign me up for a Volt!
Noel Park
Mr. Langlitz, 2/13, 2:34 PM:
How nice to see your name here.
Check out GM-Volt.com for the latest and the greatest on the Volt. It is an independent blog, and really on top of Volt developments.
It has some really interesting comments today on Mr. Lutz’s utterances about global warming!
Jonathan Brown
Great information! Can’t wait till the volt hits the streets.
GM at its best!
Big winner!
Noah Nehm
Gary: your comment on the relative scarcity of Lithium (relative to the potential needs of the car industry) is well taken. I thought I’d point out, though, that there are some alternative chemistries that would replace or augment lithium with sodium, which is essentially limitless in supply.
I’d guess that if an industry went full steam ahead with EV production, many such alternatives would arise.
Charlie H
Paul Bauerle, if the consumer buys a piece of equipment dedicated to charging his Volt, the generated electricity would be wasted whenever the Volt was away during the daytime or already at full capacity.
Since the SPV cells themselves or the windmill is such a large proportion of the cost, it really makes no sense to waste any electricity they generate; my recommendation would be to just go grid-tie.
nasaman
I’ve noted with interest from the presentation’s chart showing the average improvement in mileage for a Malibu-sized E-REV (presumably a Chevy Volt) using the amount of gasoline given for the 4 categories of hybrids used, ALL of which apparently assume the size/weight of a current Chevy Malibu:
Malibu-size HEV: 24% better mpg than a conventional Malibu
“Conversion PHEV”: 54% better mpg than a conventional Malibu
“Urban Capable HEV”: 55% better mpg than a conventional Malibu
Malibu-size E-REV: 80% better mpg than a conventional Malibu
It seems reasonable to assume the paper uses the Prius technology for the Malibu-size HEV (and perhaps GM’s 2-mode hybrid technology for one or both of the middle two categories). Although the two intermediate categories do very well compared to the Prius-based technology, the E-REV Volt is of course the outstanding technology, with its 80% reduction in fuel consumption!
And to put things in perspective for me, looking at the “raw” gasoline consumption data from the study, it’s apparent that the two intermediate cases above use approximately TWICE the fuel that a Malibu-sized Volt would use, when commuting mostly in Los Angeles. Very enlightening!
Bill Wylam
Pete,
Compliments on a very good presentation of GM’s hybrid program, the Chevy Volt and its historic roots, the EV1 and the GM/Allison Hybrid Bus. The Allison hybrid system (Electric Variable Transmission now called the Two Mode System) was developed in the early 90’s by Allison Transmission Division of GM in the Delco Remy Technology Development Center in Indianapolis (which today houses the Allison Transmission hybrid team). This facility also was the home of the EV1 propulsion system (see The Car That Could).
The development of the Allison hybrid system was heavily subsidized by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the Department of Defense through programs managed by the DARPA-created Electricore consortium (www.electricore.org).
I offer this history to acknowledge the roll that DARPA played in seeding what is today’s GM hybrid vehicle program, which can, as developed in your presentation, reduce and potentially eliminate the amount of oil the US needs from its “enemies”.
Good luck in your efforts to bring the Chevy Volt to the showroom.
Bill Wylam
Indianapolis
Ben Brown
I had made an absolute commitment not to ever again buy a GM product until the Impact was acknowledge as valuable and desired, not just by me, but many other people who drove it. Today, I find myself more open to consider a Volt or Volt like product. Of course I will be suspicious but a major barrier appears to be conditionally faded.
Brady Turley
Joe,
You should be congradulating Bob for saying that. Its about time someone with some power stood up against those global warming hippies. Too many people just follow the crowd, so when some with power says global warming is true, people usually just follow. There is no conclusive facts that we are causing global warming. The Earths climate has changed many of times in its existence. But how can that be possible is there were no car or industrial plants to pollute the atmosphere?! Thats exactly what global warming theorist have to over come. The climate change is natural, and the danged EPA better stop its mpg and emission restrictions before they do something really stupid. 35 mpg fleet wide my butt. LONG LIVE V-8 POWER!
Bob Tasa
Disappointed.
I went to the Chicago Auto show.
I thought since its one of the largest shows in North America the VOLT would be there.
No Volt. ?? Is there going to be a Volt in 2 years or not?
I am starting to wonder. You would think there would be a dog and pony for it so people can take a peek.
Tim
I’m sticking to my guns:
No plug? NO SALE!
Bring on E-Flex without H2!
Kevin Foldvary
Great presentation. As a new member of the Volt team and a new employee of GMPT. I am impressed with the capabilities presented by the Volt. With a daily commute over 100 miles total, I can’t wait to ge my hands on one!
Gary Dikkers
Thanks Noah, that is useful information and I appreciate it.
That does raise the question though of why battery companies aren’t just using sodium instead of lithium, if the supply of sodium is unlimited? Lithium must have some advantage over sodium that trumps lithium’s potential scarcity.
It’s good to know sodium is available as a backup.
I still wonder if GM’s research analysts have pointed out to the GM leadership that the price of Li-Ion batteries is likely to spike dramatically as more and more automakers build electrics and plan to put Li-Ion batteries in them?
Chevrolet won’t be selling many Volts if a shortage of lithium means the cost of the car could be $100,000 or more.
It’s probably proprietary, but it would be nice to know if GM has any contingency plans in the event the price of lithium spikes upward.
Best,
Gary Dikkers
edvard
Gary,
No offense, but wouldn’t you think it to be fairly obvious to any corporation that any given material used in a product could be subject to supply, inflation, and cost? In reality, that’s always been the case.
For example, if you peek into any antique store, take a look at some of those old pieces of furniture.Many are made out of massive slabs of solid Oak, Hickory, or maple. Why? Because back then, there were forests of massive virgin timber with huge trunks 10 feet in diameter. Wood was cheap and plentiful. So if a company decided to build a kitchen table, it made perfect sense to simply use a massive slab of solid maple to make it. But as we now see, with those trees long-gone and the cost of timber much higher, most furniture is now made out of cheap and quick growing pine, fiberboard with a thin wood or formica veneer, or some other alternative.
So in the case of furniture, newer forms of alternative sources were needed to produce the same items. If Lithium Ion batteries are currently the best choice, then that isn’t to say that they are the permanent choice. Just like large whoppin’ gas-guzzling cars of the past aren’t exactly economical today, the current batch of more efficient cars that replaced them as well as cars like the volt for the future are merely a continuation of progress.
If batteries using the Sodium are a viable alternative, then that isn’t to say that they are at this very moment. Either way, the means to power the Volt already exist, so why worry about a problem that has yet to even materialize yet?
Edward Hayes
Thanks again GM for being the most proactive company to find meaningful, serious, and practical solutions to our energy and transportation needs.
What would America do without you?
I don’t want to know.
The details are great, the graph well explained but it’s the vision and getting to the guts of this file that one can begin to appreciate its scope. There is so much change so fast and many still do not understand why the changes.
So many people still think the ethanol and cellulose industry is taking off because of subsidies for example. They are wrong and the unreliable habits of the government prove that the long term investment in the ethanol industry cannot rely on short term policy.
No, what all these cellulose, battery, and ethanol companies are after is the profit windfall from oil in which ExxonMobil alone made-we all heard by now $11 billion in just 90 days, $44 billion in a year.
The market is going after, not subsidies or a benevolent dream to help the environment or America’s hopes of energy independence-nope-they are going after oil’s profits.
When GM develops these technologies, what you are doing here is just that. When you sell a Volt the economic effect for you is, you are taking some of the energy dollars from the oil company and transferring it to GM’s coffers. And you are saying to the customer, “Look, pay for you energy up front because you don’t know where energy prices will land.”
When given an option, most if they can would like to pay for energy sooner rather than later.
I challenge GM’s number crunchers to start analyzing this “energy benefit” that GM may have with each unit sold of these various drive trains and see where we can have the greatest impact on transferring the profits of oil companies to the profits of the car company. This could be interesting research.
Gary Dikkers
Edvard said: “No offense, but wouldn’t you think it to be fairly obvious to any corporation that any given material used in a product could be subject to supply, inflation, and cost? In reality, that’s always been the case.”
No offense taken Edvard.
You would think it would be fairly obvious to a huge, world-class company that materials are subject to inflation, cost, and the laws of supply of demand, wouldn’t you?
But GM’s record in that regard is less than stellar. Back in the first oil shock of the 1970s, they continued to build large, gas-guzzling land yachts as the price of oil spiked, giving the Japanese automakers the opening they needed. (GM managed to ignore both what was happening to oil prices and what customers wanted.)
The Japanese took advantage of GM’s lack of foresight and have held that advantage ever since.
GM also didn’t respond very well to other oil shocks in the 1980s and 1990s.
It’s to America’s advantage to keep GM a great company, so if I can give them a “heads up” to potential problems with the supply of lithium, I’m glad to do it.
Truth is, I’d be very surprised if GM’s research analysts haven’t already pointed out the potential limiting factors in the lithium supply, but large, ponderous companies such as GM are notorious for not allowing the word from knowledgeable mid-level people to bubble-up to the leaders and decision makers at the top.
I suspect that in 1970s there were worker bees at GM who said then, “Hey guys, we need to adjust our product for a new market and make smaller, lighter cars that get great mileage.” but it’s obvious the CEOs of that era (Thomas Murphy, Roger Smith, and Robert Stemple) never got the word, or if they did, ignored it.
GM needs a contingency plan in the event the soon-to-surge demand for lithium causes a price spike making Li-ion batteries so expensive few could afford to buy a Volt. Wouldn’t you agree?
Best regards,
Gary
Charlie H
Paul Bauerle,
My comment wasn’t clear… yes, installing solar and windmill to provide electricity makes sense but, rather than dedicating a system to charging the Volt, get a regular grid-tie system (hooks to utility lines and feeds the grid your excess), so any electricity generated when the Volt is away or doesn’t need a charge won’t get wasted.
Jason
I am an engineer working on the Volt. I came from working for a Solar Electric Integrator and I still have contacts there. I am getting questions (I haven’t answered them, of course) about the size of the battery for the Volt from my old colleagues because they are meeting potential Solar customers in California already buying Solar systems with the intent of powering the Chevy Volt when it comes out. Obviously this was very exciting for me to hear, but have we thought of partnering with some of the major Solar companies on some sort of marketing campaign. It might be a really good way to gain more momentum for the Volt well before Toyota comes out with their PHEV in a market where people have some disposable income and are very likely to purchase a green vehicle (for reference, the average S. California Solar install costs $20-25k ballpark and doesn’t pay for itself for more than 12 years)
Ernest Miller
Finally, some sanity on “global warming.” I live in Cleveland. In ages past there was a huge glacier where Lake Erie, Cleveland and my house now sits. I am pretty sure my wife’s SUV didn’t melt the glaciers and end the last ice age. I believe bigger forces are at work in determining global temperatures than industrial activity. Despite my skepticism on industrial driven global warming, I applaud your efforts on new energy sources for vehicles. I am a Volt waiting list member not because of “global warming,” but because it looks like an excellent technology for vehicle propulsion, cleaner air and achieving petroleum independence. Thank you for your continued clarity and courage.
nasaman
Mr Savagian:
I’m sure you attended another paper given at this same symposium by Dr. Menahem Anderman. Among many other arguments, Anderman elaborated as to why he claims “PHEVs will be a detour and not a step forward”, if:
1) Companies dilute their efforts to expand conventional HEVs and to introduce li-ion batteries into the market;
2) If governments miss the opportunity to provide incentives for conventional HEVs, “the only electrified vehicle technology that can make an impact on the environment in the next 10 years” and
3) If the PHEV is rushed to market by bypassing prudent automotive engineering design, verification, qualification and supplier management standards.
IMO, he’s absolutely right! And it seems to me GM is addressing all 3 of these caveats. GM’s “mild” hybrids for the Vue, Aura & Malibu, plus the new 2-mode hybrids for SUVs & trucks, certainly address #1. Regarding #2, I have no doubt they’ll lobby Congress heavily to provide buyer incentives for BOTH their conventional hybrids AND the Volt. And I’m positive GM’s leaning hard on the Chevy Volt in-house team and their suppliers to address #3.
However, the PIVOTAL question is how GM will address the Volt’s initial PRICING…..
As a Motor Trend article on the subject paper says,
“At present, and in the near future, Dr. Anderman doubts PHEVs will be very significant players, as the price of the battery packs - $4000 in the case of a PHEV-10 (one which can travel 10 miles on its battery alone) or $10,000 for a PHEV- 40 (the Volt, for instance) - is too high for them to be economically replaced during the vehicle’s service life. At present, Dr. Anderman contends that the longevity of lithium-ion is just too sketchy.”
So GM is likely to heavily subsidize the Volt’s retail pricing (as is generally believed Toyota did in the early years of the Prius) enough to keep the base model under $30,000 and a “competitively-equipped” model under $35,000 (in 2011 dollars). These price limits, plus government tax credits and/or other buyer incentives, should overcome the reluctance of many buyers to risk buying a radically-new model, and the Volt’s 1st year sales volume should have a good chance of reaching their goal of 60,000.
One more thing… The Volt will have to have PIZAZZ –a lot of it! Basic things such as 328i-like handling (the Volt’s low c.g. & 50/50 weight distribution, coupled with Caddy CTS suspension technology should make it achievable). And such things as heat-reflecting/absorbing glass all around; “cool” interior (& exterior) LED lighting; up-scale interior materials, fit & finish; sexy & functional front/rear consoles; and a dash & instrument design “to die for”. Plus optional features like a sport suspension, up-scale navigation/audio systems and an electrochromic glass top should be offered for those buyers who want them. Then, like the lady in the current CTS television ad (one of the best car ads I’ve ever seen) says, the only question will be, “when you turn your car on, will it return the favor”?
NOTE TO BOB LUTZ: I’d put the word out to the Volt team that the car had better not just turn buyers on like a CTS, but ELECTRIFY them!!!
Noah Nehm
Lithium’s advantage is that it is lighter and more electropositive than Sodium, giving it an edge generically.
Keep in mind, though, the Sodium battery is still very much in the research phase, while Li-Ion batteries have been around for a while, so I wouldn’t expect to see the Sodium-Ion (or better said “Alkali-Ion”) battery make it to market soon.
Having said that, I have been noting lately that there has been quite a bit of progress in battery technology - and expect to see a whole spectrum of battery types coming to market relatively quickly (2-10 years).
Paul Bauerle
Charlie H,
I agree with going grid-tie whenever possible makes the most sense. However, I was thinking of the people who choose living off the grid, or those that are too far away from the grid (and probably even further from a gas station), or in some places where net-metering is not allowed. Those people have battery banks that store th power for their house when they are way. Then the Volt would be charged from a combination of the solar/wind/battery power when the vehicle is brought back home.
Gary Dikkers
Pete Savagian said: “Based on our studies, a vehicle like this offers tremendous potential to reduce petroleum use and emissions.”
Mr Savagian,
Am wondering if you saw this story from Monday’s US Today (With a nice image of your Volt), and what your reaction is: Reports say plug-in cars could actually increase air pollution
Sometimes you can’t win for losing can you?
My reaction is that for efforts such as your Volt to reduce emissions, they must obviously be linked with renewable or clean methods of electric power generation such as wind turbines, solar, or nuclear reactors.
Perhaps you will have to restrict sales of the Volt in the parts of the country that get their electricity from coal-fired generating plants; or before you sell the Volt in those regions, require they demonstrate they can capture the CO2 from their coal-fired plants.
Regards,
Gary Dikkers
nasaman
Mr Savagian:
I’m sure you attended another paper given at this same symposium by Dr. Menahem Anderman. Among many other arguments, Anderman elaborated as to why he claims “PHEVs will be a detour and not a step forward”, if:
1) Companies dilute their efforts to expand conventional HEVs and to introduce li-ion batteries into the market;
2) If governments miss the opportunity to provide incentives for conventional HEVs, “the only electrified vehicle technology that can make an impact on the environment in the next 10 years” and
3) If the PHEV is rushed to market by bypassing prudent automotive engineering design, verification, qualification and supplier management standards.
IMO, he’s absolutely right! And it seems to me GM is addressing all 3 of these caveats. GM’s “mild” hybrids for the Vue, Aura & Malibu, plus the new 2-mode hybrids for SUVs & trucks, certainly address #1. Regarding #2, I have no doubt they’ll lobby Congress heavily to provide buyer incentives for BOTH their conventional hybrids AND the Volt. And I’m positive GM’s leaning hard on the Chevy Volt in-house team and their suppliers to address #3.
However, the PIVOTAL question is how GM will address the Volt’s initial PRICING…..
As a Motor Trend article on the subject paper says,
“At present, and in the near future, Dr. Anderman doubts PHEVs will be very significant players, as the price of the battery packs - $4000 in the case of a PHEV-10 (one which can travel 10 miles on its battery alone) or $10,000 for a PHEV- 40 (the Volt, for instance) - is too high for them to be economically replaced during the vehicle’s service life. At present, Dr. Anderman contends that the longevity of lithium-ion is just too sketchy.”
So GM is likely to heavily subsidize the Volt’s retail pricing (as is generally believed Toyota did in the early years of the Prius) enough to keep the base model under $30,000 and a “competitively-equipped” model under $35,000 (in 2011 dollars). These price limits, plus government tax credits and/or other buyer incentives, should overcome the reluctance of many buyers to risk buying a radically-new model, and the Volt’s 1st year sales volume should have a good chance of reaching their goal of 60,000.
One more thing… The Volt will have to have PIZAZZ –a lot of it! Basic things such as 328i-like handling (the Volt’s low c.g. & 50/50 weight distribution, coupled with Caddy CTS suspension technology should make it achievable). And such things as heat-reflecting/absorbing glass all around; “cool” interior (& exterior) LED lighting; up-scale interior materials, fit & finish; sexy & functional front/rear consoles; and a dash & instrument design “to die for”. Plus optional features like a sport suspension, up-scale navigation/audio systems and an electrochromic glass top should be offered for those buyers who want them. Then, like the lady in the current CTS television ad (one of the best car ads I’ve ever seen) says, the only question will be, “when you turn your car on, will it return the favor”?
NOTE TO BOB LUTZ: I’d put the word out to the Volt team that the car had better not just turn buyers on like a CTS, but ELECTRIFY them!!!
Frank
I hope GM has the crushers ready for this vehicle too. I won’t be excited about the Chevy Volt until I can BUY it.
Dekooninglim
From the images I have seen of the volt it looks really sporty and a bit long. I think it doesn’t fit the image of an electric vehicle that’s meant to save gas. In keeping with it’s ecological emphasis the design should be less flamboyant and more low key which I think will appeal to more buyers who interested in saving gas. A volt in the body of the Trax, Groove or Beat would be more appropriate. Just my thoughts.
Josie Osborne
Hi Pete,
Great to see you working on the Volt. I have read about it and have been waiting for GM to really take the plunge and make it a reality. I really want to buy an American made car…really. Til then, I have moved to be close enough to work to commute by bike or foot.
It definitely needs to be priced below 30,000 for people like me who are tight fisted but want to do the right thing.