General Motors claims its Chevrolet Volt concept sedan, unveiled at the Detroit motor show and powered by the E-flex System – a next-generation electric propulsion system – could nearly eliminate trips to the petrol station.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Volt is a battery-powered, four-passenger electric vehicle that uses a petrol engine to create additional electricity to extend its range. The Volt draws from GM’s previous experience in the modern electric vehicle market when it launched the EV1 in 1996, according to vice chairman Bob Lutz.
“The EV1 was the benchmark in battery technology and was a tremendous achievement,” Lutz said. “Even so, electric vehicles, in general, had limitations. They had limited range, limited room for passengers or luggage, couldn’t climb a hill or run the air conditioning without depleting the battery, and had no device to get you home when the battery’s charge ran low.
“The Volt is a new type of electric vehicle. It addresses the range problem and has room for passengers and their stuff. You can climb a hill or turn on the air conditioning and not worry about it.”
The Volt can be fully charged by plugging it into a 110-volt home AC outlet for approximately six hours a day. When the lithium-ion battery is fully charged, the car can deliver 40 city miles of pure electric vehicle range. When the battery is depleted, a one-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged engine spins at a constant speed to create electricity and replenish the battery. According to Lutz, this increases the fuel economy and range.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalData“If you lived within 30 miles from work (60 miles round trip) and charged your vehicle every night when you came home or during the day at work, you would get 150 miles per gallon,” Lutz said.
“More than half of all Americans live within 20 miles of where they work (40 miles round trip). In that case, you might never burn a drop of gas during the life of the car.”
The Volt is also designed to run on E85, a fuel blend of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol. Using E85, fuel economy of 150 mpg would translate into more than 525 miles per petroleum gallon.
In the event a driver forgets to charge the vehicle or goes on a vacation far away, the Volt would still get 50 mpg by using the engine to convert petrol into electricity and extending its range up to 640 miles, more than double that of today’s conventional vehicles.
A technological breakthrough required to make this concept a reality is a large lithium-ion battery. This type of electric car, which engineers call an ‘EV range-extender’, would require a battery pack that weighs nearly 400 pounds (181 kg). Some experts predict that such a battery – or a similar battery – could be production-ready by 2010 to 2012.
GM vice president of global programme management Jon Lauckner said the Volt is uniquely built to accommodate a number of advanced technology propulsion solutions that can give GM a competitive advantage.
“Today’s vehicles were designed around mechanical propulsion systems that use petroleum as their primary source of fuel.” Lauckner said.
Tomorrow’s vehicles need to be developed around a new propulsion architecture with electricity in mind. The Volt is the first vehicle designed around GM’s E-flex System.
“That’s why we are also showing a variant of the Chevrolet Volt with a hydrogen-powered fuel cell, instead of a gasoline engine EV range-extender,” said Lauckner. “Or, you might have a diesel engine driving the generator to create electricity, using bio-diesel. Finally, an engine using 100% ethanol might be factored into the mix. The point is, all of these alternatives are possible with the E-Flex System.”
The Volt concept car is built on a modified future architecture, Lauckner said, similar to the one GM uses for current small cars, such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR.
