The Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) is one of those great stepping-stone vehicles between conventional and electric. Soon, it will be even more capable.
Currently, the Chevy Volt has a measly 37-mile electric vehicle (EV) range, but that doesn’t give drivers range-jitters, because of the small gasoline-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) generator. In driving, the Chevy Volt never is actually driven by the ICE, but backup power is a welcome addition. Still, Volt drivers have some to love the EV mode, completely free of the gas pump, and have changed their driving habits to avoid it as much as possible. Some Chevy Volt drivers have racked up over 10,000 mpg (gasoline-only), and Chevy Volt drivers rack up more EV miles than even Nissan Leaf drivers!
“What could be a better addition to the Chevy Volt than more EV range,” is a perfectly legitimate question, and General Motors’ answer has been rumor until now. A Chevy Volt with “three times the range” has been in the works for some time, apparently, and it seems that all those plans are ready to come to fruition. General Motors has just put some major funding into the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant and the Brownstone Battery Assembly Plant, $449 million, which can only mean one thing: Chevy Volt Version 2.0 is nearing reality.
Upgrading these two plants seems to be the next step in making the next-generation Chevy Volt, with an estimated 200-mile EV range and a small $30,000 price tag. It is expected that the new Volt will be set to compete with the upcoming Tesla Model E, as well as the updated Nissan Leaf, although Nissan has been tight-lipped on any of its plans for an upgraded US Leaf.
Photo credit: Argonne National Laboratory / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Ted Denney Why do you have to be like that, Chevy Volt owner. I’m cool with questions, but calm down a little. Think, “Why would Ben make this up?” Besides, check out paragraph two on this page of a BusinessWeek interview with GM CEO Dan Akerson: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-12-12/exclusive-the-inside-story-of-gms-comeback-and-mary-barras-rise#p4 200-miles and $30,000
200 mile range @ 30k(ish) price? Pfft where did you get these numbers? In a dream? The fact is the current Volt averages around 100 mpg combined electric and gas assist electric so, the most fuel efficient gas engine car currently sold that also seats 4 and has room for luggage. I’d say the more likely Volt 2.0 “may” deliver up to 50 miles on a single charge and up the gas only mileage from around 40 mpg to 50 mpg, perhaps with a 5th seat. Of course this too is only speculation from an actual Volt owner who currently is averaging over 120 mpg.