REPORT: GM could build 70,000 Chevy Volts a year
2011 Chevy Volt - Click above for high-res image gallery
The most recent estimates indicate that GM plans to make 200-400 Chevy Volts in 2010 and then about around 10,000 in 2011. These numbers are down significantly from predictions a few years ago of 60,000 Volts in the first year. CNET, though, thinks that the actual number of plug-in hybrids, like the Volt, that will use LG Chem's lithium-ion packs that GM can make a year is actually 70,000. CNET is also willing to put a price on the Voltec system's pack: $8,000.
These numbers come from analysis of GM's new, $43 million battery plant in Brownstown Township, south of Detroit (thanks, $2.4 billion stimulus package!) and what it's capable of producing. Pilot production will start at the Brownstown plant in the first quarter of 2010.
Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt
[Source: CNET]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
oollyoumn 7:26PM (8/22/2009)
The last word I read from GM that gave actual production dates was late November to early December 2010 for the first Volt. Maybe 200-400 is a stretch goal.
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jpm 8:00PM (8/22/2009)
I wonder how many EV2's they could be making per year today?
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oldraven 7:08AM (8/23/2009)
The Volt is the EV2, considering how much technology came from that first failed experiment (it wasn't a real production programme, it was an answer to a CARB mandate), and the fact that GM tried to put a range extender on the EV1 the first time around (CARB wouldn't allow it). It's amazing what you can learn from someone who's been there if you take off the blinders when Gary talks about the EV1 project.
XYZ 8:20PM (8/22/2009)
Go away, spammer!
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jpm 8:24PM (8/22/2009)
two things...
a) you're bias towards hydrogen discredits your anti EV statements
b) posting a response longer than the original article is probably a waste of time since most won't read it
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Mark Kiernan 8:42PM (8/22/2009)
You are becoming more and more desperate H2 must be really going down the toilet or Exxon cut their funding to you.
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Ignatius 8:56PM (8/22/2009)
Yes, GM's numbers for MPG are completely wacky and probably not a representative number of what people will actually get. On the other hand, hydrogen is absolute garbage, trusting any site with information with hydrogen bias is incredibly stupid.
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Ignatius 8:59PM (8/22/2009)
Oh, and the whole 'viability' of 40 mile range...
Just wait until you get away from the hydrogen pumps. If you go anywhere outside of CA, you are so royally screwed, so don't even talk about range.
Second off, it does have an onboard gas generator that allows the range to be extended and the engine has been said to get about 50 MPG while in charge-sustaining mode. Yes, the numbers are wrong, it was a bad PR call, but I'll be damned the day they start building hydrogen stations en masse.
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jmallx 9:16PM (8/22/2009)
8K for the Battery pack???
WTF
Theres no way this car should cost 40K, it should barely cost 30K
I've studied and done Mechanical and Electrical engineering and something is really screwy here.
An electric car is simpler than a ICE (internal combustion engine), and if all you need is a generator to power the battery pack then a stirling engine would be the way to go. Simper, fewer moving parts and at least 30% more efficient right off the bat. The only problem with a Stirling engine is that it would take anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds to start turning, but since you could start the engine at 10% charge left in the battery that wouldnt be a problem.
GM, you screwed up, AGAIN!
And i'll never buy the Volt anywhere NEAR this price.
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meme 12:01AM (8/23/2009)
Your error is the same one Bob Lutz made early in the Volt program: EV drivetrains are simpler than ICE drivetrains, so let's assume the drivetrain costs the same, and the only difference is the battery pack.
The issue is... that's not the case.
Check out EV drivetrain components some time. They're *expensive*. Why? Because the good ones are largely handmade. Low volumes and all. So, for example, the AC-150 that the Roadster's drivetrain is based on is ~$20k. Even a lower-end drivetrain -- say, an AC24LS motor, DMOC445 inverter, and PFC-50 charger -- will run you about $10k total. And we're just talking propulsion here. Lots of accessories need to be EV-specific -- for example, you can't have a typical heater, because that relies on having significant engine waste heat. And EVs are often made lighter and more aero to save on the battery pack, but that adds a couple $k to the price of the chassis.
It's simply a myth that the difference in price between EVs and ICE vehicles is due to the price of the battery pack.
why not the LS2LS7? 1:03AM (8/23/2009)
Yes, $8K for the battery pack. $8K for a 16kWh Lion pack isn't bad at all.
Stirling engine? You must be kidding me. The only real problem with a Stirling engine is the ridiculously low power output for size.
Chris M 2:28AM (8/23/2009)
Since the Volt has the "range extender" starting up while there is still 35% of charge remaining, the slow startup time for a Stirling engine would be no problem.
The efficiency of a Stirling engine is determined mainly by the temperature differential between heat in and heat out, increasing temperature input and lowering temperature output increases efficiency. Stationary Stirling engines can use large cooling towers or flowing water for high efficiency cooling, but to get Stirling efficiency higher than an IC engine in a car means using a very large radiator for cooling, perhaps too large to be practical. Also, Stirling engines tend to be larger and heavier than IC engines of equivalent power.
So a "Stirling Volt" might not perform much better than the design GM is using, but it would have required more engineering and would probably have cost more.
jmallx 11:27AM (8/23/2009)
Guys Dean Kamen (Segway inventor) has already done it (i was doing stirling research and came across it)
If the link doesnt work google
Dean Kamen stirling engine
http://hackaday.com/2008/11/09/dean-kamens-stirling-engine-car/
Its doable
As to the power of the stirling engine
Direct Quotes
"Ford even built a Stirling that could drive away from the curb (with relatively low power) twenty seconds after you turned the start key!"
"The P-40 Stirling engine promised less pollution, 30% better mileage, and the same level of performance as the car's standard internal combustion engine."
http://www.stirlingengine.com/faq/one?scope=public&faq_id=1#2
The stirling generator doesn't need to vary its speed/power output, it just needs to recharge the battery for the car.
Since the good electric drivetrains and what not are largely handmade you just have to do mass production to drive down the cost.
Something GM should be good at.
FrankBank 9:52PM (8/22/2009)
The 230 mpg is not wacky or an exageration. It is the average mpg of a large fleet of Volts. The variability among drivers will be high; some will get an infinite number since the drive a short distance in a day, and others will get 50 or only 100 mpg.
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Ignatius 11:12PM (8/22/2009)
How can you possibly calculate miles per gallon when you aren't using gasoline?
You calculate it in wH per mile, or miles per kwH.
Brent 12:02AM (8/23/2009)
Dude that a JOKE.
If you want to say the near infinity comment then the MiEV and the Leaf do get infinite, as well as another other all electric.
This car weighs too much, it's better to go all electric or ICE. The engine just ways down the electronics or the electronics way down the electronics, IN THE EXCEPTION of regenerative braking with small amount of batteries, where the recaptuing or the gas engines waste is effective.
The Volt uses a 16kwh battery to go 40miles, pulling a 4000+Lb car. While with the exact same battery size(16kwh) and a 8 horse power less engine(63hp instead of the volts 71) the MiEV(2380Lbs) gets a 100 mile range. Tell me how thats not just polluting more when you use a vehicle that weighs more and cost more pollution to be produced. For an 8 hp difference I'd much rather go the same speed with 1-1,500lb less heavy car. Or even better, 107 hp with the Leaf, with a 99mile range and a 24kwh battery, that one could actually work on a Highway, which i don't see the MIEV or the Volt doing well on.
why not the LS2LS7? 1:07AM (8/23/2009)
That's only true if you only count gas energy input. And that's not how you should do it.
Brent:
You need to work on your figures. The Volt isn't using the whole battery pack so it will last longer and has higher power density. Not true for the MiEV. I'd also be shocked if this car weighed 4,000lbs. It's gonna be heavy, but I don't think it'll be that heavy.
The Leaf range figures are a joke. They are on the LA-4 (UDDS) cycle, most people will see significantly lower range.
The real value of the Volt is it can be taken on long trips. Neither of the cars you mention can cover my needs every day of the month, they cannot make it to San Francisco and back even on a full charge, let alone after driving to work first. And you don't have to have your garage rewired for a Volt, you don't need to plug it in at home at all, this is useful if you are a renter.
meme 12:01AM (8/23/2009)
Flagged as spam. As usual.
Astroturf is not welcome here. Your attempts to promote your business are scummy.
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why not the LS2LS7? 1:01AM (8/23/2009)
How come greg can get in 3 links and still get his post up? If I put in 2-3 links my post is held for review.
Damn spammers, making my life hard and they aren't even impacted.
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Jon 4:30AM (8/23/2009)
"And you don't have to have your garage rewired for a Volt, you don't need to plug it in at home at all, this is useful if you are a renter."
Yes, but that rather defeats the purpose of paying a premium for a Volt (and what is the failure rate if you just use the engine?). Of course, you could rely on public charging points but I doubt they will stay free / cheap for long. I'd love a Volt but I live in an apartment without a garage so it's going to be a Prius for me.
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