Chevrolet Volt - Business

Classification as a hybrid Because the current Society of Automotive Engineers SAE definition of a hybrid vehicle states the vehicle shall have two or more energy storage systems both of which must provide propulsion power either together or independently the company has avoided the use of the term hybrid when describing its Voltec designs Instead GM describes the Volt as an electric vehicle equipped with a range extending gasoline powered internal combustion engine ICE as a genset and therefore dubbed an Extended Range Electric Vehicle or E REV However due to the combination of an internal combustion engine and electric motors in series rather than parallel this configuration is most commonly referred to as a plug in series hybrid See Hybrid vehicle drivetrain Design Concept vehicle The first Chevy Volt concept vehicle The Volt concept vehicle has four doors with a rear liftgate and is capable of carrying four passengers This is a significant change in design when compare d to the General Motors EV1 of the 1990s which only seated two to reduce weight The top speed has also been increased on the Volt from the electronically limited 80 miles per hour 130 km h to 100 miles per hour 160 km h The battery pack size has also been reduced from about 300 L in volume in the EV1 to just 100 L in the Volt GM s Vice Chairman Robert Lutz told Newsweek in 2007 that a two seat sports car by Tesla Motors the Roadster and the rapid advancement of battery technology inspired him to push GM to develop the Volt Production model The production design model first revealed to the public on September 16 2008 differs greatly in design from the original concept car Citing necessary aerodynamic changes needed to extend the Volt s initial full charge range the Volt uses GM s new Delta II platform shared by the planned 2010 Chevrolet Cruze and the 2011 Saab 9 3 Although GM has not publicly revealed the production model s drag coefficient they claim it will be lower than t he 0 25 drag coefficient of the Toyota Prius which uses a Kammback body Electromechanical design timeline Chevrolet Volt concept at the 2008 Australian International Motor Show GM executives report that battery technology will have a large impact in determining the success of the car To help spur battery research GM selected two companies to provide advanced lithium ion battery packs Compact Power CPI which uses manganese spinel based cells made by its parent company LG Chemical and Continental Automotive Systems which uses nanophosphate based cylindrical cells made by A123Systems However on August 9 2007 GM established a more close knit relationship with A123Systems so that the two companies could co develop a Volt specific battery cell This cell was later unveiled at the EVS23 industry convention in Anaheim CA Work with CPI has continued at a rapid pace and in late 2007 CPI delivered two fully functional prototype battery packs to GM s testing facilities On January 31 2008 A123 and Continental delivered their first prototype to GM s European test facilities GM announced on January 12 2009 that it would use the LG Chem batteries for the production model GM expects ten years of life out of the batteries As of early 2008 they had started extensive battery testing and planned to have 10 year battery results in two years Batteries were placed in the Chevrolet Malibu for further real world testing In April 2008 GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said that the first battery test mule was now running with a lithium ion battery pack By that summer GM confirmed that a non turbocharged 1 4 liter 4 cylinder engine would be used as the range extender and that the intention is to build it in Flint Michigan In August 2008 Andrew Farah the car s chief engineer stated that the project remains on track to hit the 2010 deadline saying at this point there nothing standing in our way of continuing to do what we said wee going to do In April 2009 GM allowed journalists to test the Volt powertrain in the body of Chevrolet Cruze sedans used as test mules which lacked the range extending generator The driving tests were conducted at GM Technical Center in Warren Michigan Several of the journalists noted that the Volt mule s drive in electric mode is quiet and smooth without any of the typical noises in commercially available hybrids when accelerating or decelerating In November 2009 a journalist described the feel of driving the car as it transitioned from electric to generator mode as the engine initial engagement is inaudible and seamless GM plans to include in the Volt some type of noisemaker to alert blind pedestrians of the car s presence The first integration prototype based on the final Volt design was built in June 2009 in Warren Michigan By October 80 Volts had been built and tested in various conditions and by October 2009 GM expects 80 of them to be on the road as press cars and test vehicles Drivetrain Drivetrain cut away of the Volt at the 2008 Australian International Motor Show Right side the gasoline powered engine used as generator to recharge the batteries Left side the electric powered engine used for traction The 2007 Chevrolet Volt concept vehicle that appeared in the North American International Auto Show introduced the Voltec drive system which is an attempt to standardize many components of possible future electrically propelled vehicles and to allow multiple interchangeable electricity generating systems The initial design as envisioned in the Volt combines an electric motor and 16 kWh 58 MJ lithium ion battery plug in system with a small 1 0 L engine powered by gasoline linked to a 53 kW 71 hp generator The vehicle is propelled by an electric motor with a peak output of 120 kW 160 hp Ordinarily the vehicle would be charged while at home overnight According to General Motors a full charge will take approximately eight hours from a standard North American 120 V 15 A household outlet and less than three hours if using a standard 240 VAC outlet Charge times will be less if the battery is not fully depleted when charging commences Since the electrical drivetrain is not affected by the method used to charge its batteries several options could be available for an engine The original prototype specifications for the Volt indicated a turbo charged 1 0 litre 3 cylinder engine would be used However the initial production configuration currently specified by GM indicates the use of a naturally aspirated 1 4 liter 4 cylinder gasoline engine Opel s Family 0 The Volt will be E85 flex fuel capable about a year after its introduction This drivetrain layout is considered a plug in series hybrid design since mechanical power drives the generator which in turn either charges the battery pack or provides power to the electric motor While the ICE has an electrical connection with the electric motor and hence the wheels there is no mechanical linkage to the wheels unlike current au tomobile hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius allowing optimization of engine rpm for fuel consumption efficient rate of charge and low emissions GM plans to station charge the lithium ion battery to a state of charge SoC range of approx 85 Then once the battery depletes to a precise low set point 25 the on board ICE powered generator will maintain the state of charge of the battery between the lower setpoint and an upper set point above the 30 SoC level GM has decided on a new descriptive terminology to distinguish it from traditional hybrids They are calling the Volt an E REV for extended range electric vehicle although it still qualifies as a hybrid Production and sales Volt s frontal view Volt s rear view In July 2007 General Motors stated that it would have the Volt on the U S market in 2010 and in early June 2008 they confirmed that production had been approved with a target of getting the Volt into showrooms by the end of 2010 Following the conclusion of the 2007 UAW GM contract talks assembly of the Volt was assigned to Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Initially the gasoline engine will be imported from the Opel engine plant in Aspern Austria Early estimates from GM staff were of initial annual production of 60 000 units but these claims have been scaled back to a planned 10 000 units as of May 2008 with a ramp up to 60 000 units in the second year At the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show Opel Vauxhall showed the Ampera version of the Chevrolet Volt Tax credits In the U S market the price of the Volt is expected to be around US 40 000 General Motors expects that the capacity of the Volt s battery pack will qualify U S based purchasers for the maximum US 7 500 tax credit as specified in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 Initially the former GM vice president Bob Lutz wanted the Volt at about 30 000 The Volt is being endorsed by Dalton McGuinty and the Ontario government in Canada The province will provide a 10 000 subsidy and will pu rchase 500 Volts for the Ontario Public Service fleet The subsidies are part of McGuinty s target to have electric vehicles make up 5 of all cars in Ontario by 2020 Production and sales in foreign markets At the British International Motor Show in July 2008 GM stated that they were considering building all of the Volts for the European market branded Chevrolet Opel and Vauxhall at their Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port on the other side of the River Mersey to the Jaguar car plant in Liverpool United Kingdom In August 2008 GM stated that the Volt would be available for sale in Europe in 2011 In the UK market the indicated price is around GBP20k In late January 2009 Opel announced that its version of the Volt the Opel Ampera will be unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show in March The price is still not yet firm but could land around EUR40 000 The planned employment of the Opel Ampera should demand only an extremely low annual car tax of about EUR28 in Germany Opel is developing the battery control modules for the Opel Ampera at LG in Mainz Kastel In Asian markets the car will be known as the Chevy Ohm A special version for Arabic countries called the Ohma is being considered citation needed At the Sydney Motor Show in October 2008 Holden stated that the Volt would be available in Australia by 2012 for more than AUD 30 000 Marketing GM has promoted the Volt through a viral marketing campaign in which the number 230 was promoted without explanation On August 11 2009 GM announced the Volt can achieve a US EPA City rating of 230 mpg US 1 0 L 100 km 280 mpg imp plus 25 kWh 100 mi 160 km using the EPA s proposed method for evaluating plug in hybrids Specifications Fuel efficiency For trips less than about 40 miles 64 km a fully charged Chevy Volt may travel using just stored electricity and not require any on board gasoline This is referred to as Charge Depletion CD mode and the Volt is expected to use approximately 25 kWh 100 mi on the city cycle of the EPA s test while operating in this mode Once the Volt s battery has discharged to the estimated 30 lower State of Charge SoC limit the engine starts and supplies power to the electric motor to continue driving the car and maintains the battery charge at 30 The Volt s range extending gasoline engine is expected to get approximately 50 mpg US 4 7 L 100 km 60 mpg imp on the city cycle of the EPA s test while operating in this Charge Sustaining CS mode citation needed On August 11 2009 GM released their estimated EPA city fuel economy rating for the Volt of 230 mpg US 1 0 L 100 km 280 mpg imp of gasoline plus 25 kWh 100 mi 160 km of electricity The U S Environmental Protection Agency EPA issued a statement clarifying that the EPA has not tested a Chevy Volt and therefore cannot confirm the fuel economy values claimed by GM If testing on the Volt were done using the EPA s 2009 hybrid testing methodology it would yield an estimated 48 mpg US 4 9 L 100 km 58 mpg imp and require the ca r to complete the test with a battery fully charged by running the gasoline engine The Volt however can use both gasoline and grid electricity thus assigning a fuel economy value that only refers to on board gasoline would not be appropriate The EPA is working on an updated methodology for determining and then reporting the fuel economy of PHEVs An EPA presentation to the Society of Automotive Engineers in February 2009 discussed a method based on SAE J1711 to combine the gasoline fuel economy with the electrical fuel economy using the petroleum equivalency factor of 33 7 kWhallonUS the lower heating value of gasoline and the value used by the DOE which would combine GM s estimated city fuel economies for the Volt into an overall 85 mpgge notes 1 for reporting Battery Outlet for the electrical charger in the left side of the Chevrolet Volt Reuters reported in October 2008 that GM had decided to work exclusively with Compact Power Incorporated CPI a Detroit based unit of Sout h Korea LG Chem to develop the battery systems for the first production version of the Volt The cells will be produced in Korea and subsequently shipped to the United States where the battery packs will be assembled at a purpose built facility in Brownstown Township Michigan owned and operated by GM The Volt s 375 lb 170 kg 220 cell lithium ion battery Li ion pack is anticipated to store 16 kWh of energy but will be restricted to use only 8 8 kWh of this capacity to maximize the life of the pack It will only be allowed to charge to 85 of full capacity and to discharge only to approximately 30 SoC before the engine cuts in and maintains the charge near

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