Saturday, August 16, 2008
GM announced this week that the Chevy Volt is still on schedule for a November 2010 release. The new plug in hybrid (PHEV) is expected to sell for between $30,000 to $40,000. However, GM only expects to be able to ramp production to 100,000 a year by 2012. As a comparison, the Toyota Prius is selling at a rate of almost a quarter a million per year.
While GM works hard to solve battery delays, cooling issues, and other unexpected issues, other companies are also speeding up their own PHEV development. Toyota has announced a follow-on Prius PHEV that will be released in 2009 using standard NiMh battery packs, but will follow-up with Li-ion packs in 2010. Ford has basically given up and said that they hope to have a PHEV available in 5 years.
Also filed in Electric Car
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Tagged Chevy, chevy volt, development, Ford, GM, NiMh, phev, plug in hybrid phev, Prius, production, Toyota, toyota prius, Volt
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I like the idea of a hybrid plug-in. In the long-run, we need a car that will go 30-50 miles on electric-only power, but with an aux on-board source of power for longer range (~250 mile) trips.
http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/
When it comes to plugging in, the Volt will be designed to use a common 110–volt household plug. For someone who drives less than 40 miles a day, Chevy Volt will use zero gasoline and produce zero emissions.(2) For longer trips, Chevy Volt’s range-extending power source kicks in to recharge the lithium-ion battery pack as required. We expect a driving range of an estimated 640 miles.(3)
Also filed in Energy-Independence, Green
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Tagged chevrolet, Chevy, chevy volt, driving range, gasoline, lithium, lithium ion battery, lithium ion battery pack, recharge, Volt, zero emissions
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My wife informed me last night that her all-time favorite car is a 1957 Chevy Bel Air Convertible. Hmm, I guess some day I may just need to pick one up?
If you have one for sale, let me know…..
