GM to begin testing Volt this spring; production on schedule
Quote:
GM to begin testing Volt this spring
By Jui Chakravorty
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Aug 9 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will begin road testing its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid in the spring of next year and remains on track to produce the rechargeable car by late 2010, a senior executive said on Thursday.
As the race to bring a mass-market, rechargeable electric vehicle to the market heats up, GM's global product chief Bob Lutz said he expects to have next-generation lithium-ion battery packs ready for the vehicles by October this year.
"We should have the battery packs by October," he said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference. "We'll have some on the road for testing next spring, and we should have the Volt in production by the end of 2010."
GM is the only automaker to have provided a timeline on the production of a plug-in hybrid vehicle, even though other companies, such as Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) are working on similar technology.
Automakers have said lithium-ion battery technology remains the biggest challenge in producing a plug-in vehicle as they try to lower the cost of the batteries and increase their power and storage capacity.
The current generation of lithium-ion batteries, used in devices such as laptop computers and electronic devices, also has a tendency to overheat.
The Volt would be outfitted with new lithium-ion battery packs, which hold a charge longer than the nickel metal hydride batteries now used widely in automobiles.
"The cost of the battery would likely be high even at the time of production," Lutz said, adding that GM is exploring options that would allow consumers to lease the battery when buying the vehicle in order to bring down the sticker price.
Unlike earlier gasoline-electric hybrids, which run on a parallel system twinning battery power and a combustion engine, plug-in cars are designed to allow short trips powered entirely by the electric motor, using a battery that can be charged through an electric socket at GM is designing the highly-anticipated Volt to run 40 miles on battery power alone, reducing or even eliminating the need for drivers to fuel up an on-board gasoline-powered engine provided as a backup power source.
Lutz said GM is requiring a 10-year life for the battery, and said the No. 1 U.S. automaker would look to price the vehicle like a "traditional mid-market car."
GM is racing rival Toyota to offer the first mass-market electric vehicle. Toyota last month unveiled a "plug-in" car based on its popular Prius hybrid model, saying it would test the fuel-saving vehicle on public roads -- a first for the industry.
But Toyota said the car, called the Toyota Plug-in HV, is not fit for commercialization because it uses low-energy nickel-metal hydride batteries instead of lithium-ion batteries, believed to be a better fit for rechargeable plug-in cars.
Environmental advocates have been pressing automakers to roll out plug-in vehicles that could be recharged at standard electric outlets as a way to reduce oil consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions.
In June, GM announced contracts with two companies -- a subsidiary of South Korea's LG Chem Ltd. (051910.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) called Compact Power Inc. and Germany's Continental AG (CONG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) to work on parallel battery development programs for the Volt.
On Thursday, GM announced another contract with A123 Systems, which has been working with Continental on battery technology.
GM said both Compact Power and A123 could end up providing the batteries for the Volt, or only one of them might meet the automaker's requirements.
So you get the car but the battery's not yours? plus a 10-year life cycle..whereas Toyota demanded 15 years for the NiMH batteries...
Not a bad start for GM I guess. Let's hope they actually do what they say and get the product in by 2010 (or 2011 MY) like they said. If so, that's gonna put a lotta pressure on Toyota and Ford for the next gen hybrids (esp. since Toyota just announced that their Li-Ion won't be ready by next year).
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I've been thinking "I'll beleive it when I see it" with the Volt, but it seems like GM is really trying to keep the story alive. It makes me think maybe the Volt really will make it to production. I was disappointed to see in a recant car mag, Chevy had a bunch of ads and one of them was the volt, there it stated by 2012....so on that note, I guess I'll beleive it when I see it.
Strange though to think that you would possibly 'lease' the battery. This is the first I have heard of that. I don't know yet if I think that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Leasing the battery is an option to help keep the Volt's price down, somewhere under $30,000, iirc. People lease cars all the time, I don't think many will have a problem with leasing the batteries, if that means saving them on the monthly payments. . . .
As to the 10 year life expectancy, you have to remember, Li-ion batteries are basically cutting edge technology, especially in this large scale. For them to have 2/3's the life of a NiMH battery at introduction is phenomenal. NiMH batteries have been around since the early 80's, basically 25 years. . . .
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Leasing the battery is an option to help keep the Volt's price down, somewhere under $30,000, iirc. People lease cars all the time, I don't think many will have a problem with leasing the batteries, if that means saving them on the monthly payments. . . .
As to the 10 year life expectancy, you have to remember, Li-ion batteries are basically cutting edge technology, especially in this large scale. For them to have 2/3's the life of a NiMH battery at introduction is phenomenal. NiMH batteries have been around since the early 80's, basically 25 years. . . .
It does make sense to lease it if it keeps the cost down. Plus you wouldn't have to be forking over a lot of money if they needed replaced in 10 years.
CanYouToyota - I'd like to see it succeed ... competition in the market is what keeps things (design, quality, functionality technology) from becoming static.
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Im waiting for the electric pickup truck. A plug in would actually be ideal for me since 95% of my driving is 10 miles to work and 10 miles home every day. Im not the bigget GM fan but the Volt did get my attention when it was introduced. It will be interesting to see what all the other companies come out with to battle it.
CanYouToyota - I'd like to see it succeed ... competition in the market is what keeps things (design, quality, functionality technology) from becoming static.
ah true. just like the battle between Intel and AMD... Keeps my head snapping back and forth between deals and the next best choice.
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Isn't "leasing the battery" exactly the sort of gimmicky thing all the domestics (and their shrill fans) criticized Toyota for when it lost money on each Prius sale for the first few years?
Why, I believe it is!
The idea that Toyota, which is three generations ahead of GM in the hybrid department, would suddenly yield the lead in that market borders on delusional.
Wonder what happens when the lease runs out on the battery, but you've already bought the car?
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A plug in would actually be ideal for me since 95% of my driving is 10 miles to work and 10 miles home every day. Im not the bigget GM fan but the Volt did get my attention when it was introduced. It will be interesting to see what all the other companies come out with to battle it.
Chevy...
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