GM's Jon Lauckner says no Volt price until mid to late 2010
During a live webchat this afternoon, General Motors VP for Global Program Management Jon Lauckner said that final pricing for the Chevrolet Volt would not be finalized until mid to late 2010. Although cars are generally developed to a target price point, Lauckner responded to a pricing query "We typically do not lock in on pricing until about 3-6 months prior to start of production. The reason is primarily so we have an opportunity to take a look at the market, competitors and other factors. So stay tuned." As for alternative versions of the Voltec such as a lower cost non-plug-in version, Lauckner ruled that out as defeating the whole point of the Volt. Without the benefits of running on grid power, the Volt's architecture would likely be less efficient than a current parallel hybrid because of the losses in always going from mechanical to electrical and back to mechanical energy. What could and likely will change eventually is the configuration of the range extender. Lauckner ruled out a Wankel, which has high power density compared to a piston engine. However, Wankels are not very fuel efficient. He did highlight HCCI as an alternative that does have promise for increased efficiency. None of these alternatives are likely to appear before at least the second gen Volt. The first gen Volt will be e85 capable at launch just as announced when the original concept appeared. More after the jump
[Source: General Motors]
Lauckner declined to give a specific timeline for the debut of the Gen II Volt. However, GM engineers are already working on the second generation model and as the cost of major components like the battery, power electronics and motor are reduced, GM will be integrating them as quickly as possible.
In response to a question about charging at 220V, Lauckner confirmed that the Volt's charging system and cable will be UL approved and ready to go at launch, unlike another recent EV that hit the streets.
Since the Volt is not totally dependent on the plug for propulsion GM has no plans to support fast battery swapping for the Volt. Just filling the gas tank will keep it going indefinitely. As for the life of that battery, Lauckner says it will be warranted for 10 years or 150,000 miles. GM will guaranteeing the original performance of the Volt pack for that time, in other words it will still have a nominal 40 mile range after 150,000 miles. If it doesn't live up to that spec, the pack will be replaced free of charge.
One of the questions asked repeatedly since the debut of the Volt is why not dump the range extender and use a larger battery for a pure EV. Lauckner explained that the Volt is intended to operate in all climate conditions throughout North America. He expressed concern that the pure EVs from other automakers will have range problems in hot climates like Arizona and cold climates like Michigan or Minnesota. While Lauckner did not address the cost issue, it's likely that at this point, a Volt with double the battery would be even more expensive than the ER-EV version. You can read the entire transcript with all the questions here.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GoodCheer 6:21PM (7/22/2009)
"Without the benefits of running on grid power, the Volt's architecture would likely be less efficient than a current parallel hybrid because of the losses in always going from mechanical to electrical and back to mechanical energy."
Haven't we been told that the Volt would run at about 50 mpg in "charge sustaining" mode? I suppose this statement, being straight from the horse's mouth, pretty much means that rumors to that effect were incorrect.
Since the bar set by the new Insight, Civic hybrid, and Fusion is about 40 mpg, (and the Prius is higher still), I guess we can assume that the actual "charge sustaining" mileage will be less than 40mpg. That's disappointing. I thought that load-curve power-point optimization would make up for the conversion losses.
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Pudgie 6:56PM (7/22/2009)
I thought it was self-evident that the weight of the large battery, the size of the vehicle, and the inefficiencies of coverting gasoline to electricity would preclude high MPG in "charge-sustaining" mode.
Chris M 5:35PM (7/23/2009)
In "charge sustaining" mode, the Volt operates like a regular hybrid. With no mechanical linkage, the Volt will have slightly higher energy conversion losses compared to other hybrids, but with a bigger battery pack available, it can keep the engine at optimum efficiency speed much more, and handle much higher regenerative braking power, so it is kind of a toss-up as to which would be more efficient.
Of course, if they made a "non-plug" hybrid version, it would have a much smaller battery so it wouldn't have the large battery advantages, and would end up with somewhat lower fuel economy compared to the more conventional split-path and parallel hybrids.
Boxman 6:52PM (7/22/2009)
I don't think that's what he meant. Probably what he's saying is the serial-hybrid architecture doesn't make sense if the battery can only be recharged from regen (as with today's hybrids) because it relies on the electric motor to do all the work, and must therefore be equipped with a large and powerful battery. You can't recoup enough energy from regen to keep such a large battery charged. What would happen is your battery would be quickly depleted, forcing the gas engine to do all the work, which would be inefficient because it has to turn a generator first, which then powers the electric motor, which then turns the wheels.
Not as efficient as the way a parallel hybrid operates when the battery is depleted, where the engine is directly coupled to the transmission like any other ICE car.
In other words, a serial hybrid only makes sense as a plug-in vehicle, where the battery's usually charged up at night and does most of the work driving the car, but still has enough spare charge, even when depleted, to assist the gasoline engine by providing power at those rpm levels where the gas engine is least efficient, thus allowing the gas engine to operate in a narrow rpm band most of the time. This is how the Volt gets outstanding mileage even when the battery is "depleted" (it's never truly depleted; the battery reverts to assisting the gas engine when state of charge gets down to 30%).
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GenWaylaid 12:59AM (7/23/2009)
You make a good point. In charge sustaining mode, a serial hybrid would be using its generator and electric motor(s) as an infinitely variable transmission. Compared to other types of transmissions, this has some advantages (optimal engine speed, flexible packaging), but it's going to be notably less efficient than a direct mechanical or hydraulic-mechanical connection.
That said, there's a good chance the Volt will be able to match the Prius' highway mileage, because the production Volt is quite a slippery shape and drag makes much more difference than momentum on the highway. Conversely, I would expect the city mileage of the Volt with a depleted pack to be worse than a Prius because of all the battery weight the Volt has to carry. Well, that's what the plug is for.
GoodCheer 4:11PM (7/23/2009)
Serial Hybird: A vehicle that is a hybrid every Thursday at 7pm, all summer long.
Just because 'parallel' ends in the letter 'L' does not mean that 'series' needs to. These terms existed long before GM came up with "range extended EV".
why not the LS2LS7? 3:27AM (7/23/2009)
I can't see how it can match a Prius in charge sustaining mode. Even with the CVT action, it has the problem that a Prius also has a CVT transmission due to how it feeds in the ICE and electric motors. I've been paying attention to my use, and if I really can get 40 miles per day on electric, I'll use far less gas with this that with the Prius. And I can't imagine the small amount of electricity would add up to as much as the gas saved.
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Diffrunt 9:25AM (7/23/2009)
The first successful pure electric w/ microturbine generator will capture the market due to it,s simplicity. I hope it has a hicap/chemical batt combo.
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Bobmarley 7:20AM (7/23/2009)
They are probably banking on a government subsidy to avoid the initial "sticker shock" on consumers. It's almost like they have to decide if they want the criticism to start now or later (by releasing the pricing).
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Throwback 12:20PM (7/23/2009)
I don't know any company that would release pricing 15 months before a on sale date.
LM 10:32AM (7/23/2009)
No automaker (or any manufacturer) in their right mind would release over a year in advance. So many things could change that the price could be much more or much less. Final suppliers need to be picked, price technology and raw materials could rise (or fall). There are too many IFs to make a call right now. $40k might have been the 2007 price, but maybe by MY2011 the cost would be $32k. Or $28k. Or $48k. Who the hell knows, and why would GM lock the public's perception now?
Oh right, they've been touting this car for 3 years already. They deserve every ounce of negative publicity they have coming on this one.
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paulwesterberg 12:15PM (7/23/2009)
A lot depends on whether Toyota/Mitsubishi/Nissan release a BEV or plug in hybrid with decent range, efficiency & cost.