The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt, is one of the most eagerly anticipated new releases on the green car market in quite some time. However, just how green is it?
The Volt is able to run for 40 miles on lithium-ion batteries and has a range of 400 miles from an internal combustion engine that is used to charge the battery. GM however, has been unspecific about the vehicle’s fuel economy and didn’t respond to requests for more details at a Press conference earlier this week.
GM did state the vehicle will get around 50mpg on longer trips when the four-cylinder engine will be engaged. However, if a driver stays within the electric batteries’ 40mile range, then economy will improve substantially and may be closer to 100 miles per gallon.
It can certainly be estimated that the Volt will produce a significant fuel economy boost when compared to petroleum vehicles. In addition, as a plug-in electric it should dramatically reduce air pollution – plug-in hybrids have the lowest emissions over their product lifecycle compared to other automobiles, other than all-electric vehicles. Another boost is that the vehicle should be much cheaper to operate compared to regular hybrid cars.
The problems facing the Volt however, predominantly centre on the use of lithium-ion batteries – the useful life of which has still not been determined. They are also expensive, which could form a road block for the vehicle, particularly if fuel prices fall. However, the engine will also be able to run on E85 ethanol, which offers a further boost to consumers.
General Motors vice president Bob Lutz remained positive about the Volt on its introduction on Tuesday – and believes it is at the centre of a new generation of automobiles.
“General Motors’ second century starts right now,” he said.
“This is all-new technology, (featuring) a lot of very complex software on the interaction between power electronics, piston engine and so forth.”
The Volt is expected to make its debut in US showrooms during November, 2010, with Opel showing interest in producing an electric car based on the Volt for the European market in 2011.
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Do the extremely simple math and you’ll find that the Volt as a commuter in the U.S. will average 250 MPG. That 100 MPG figure is absurdly brainless and without logic.
Comment by kent beauhrt — September 18, 2008 @ 5:48 am
Paul: If you stay under 40 miles per trip, wouldn’t you only use batteries and no gas at all? 100MPG? Also, how do we know that electricity is cleaner? Where does the electricity actually come from? Not potentially come from, like wind, solar, or some other hope for the future, but Actually come from? A coal burning power plant? A nuclear power plant? How much cleaner in actuality is electricity today versus gasoline per mile driven, and considering the disposal hazard of the L-ion batteries? Is it really substantially less environmental impact today, or just someday in the future when we have complimentary technologies? What ever happened to GM’s hydrogen skateboard platform?
Comment by Dave — September 18, 2008 @ 7:46 am
Hi Kent/Dave…
Firstly Kent, I expected a comment from you this morning – articles on the Chevy Volt always appear to grab your attention. I’m interested to know how you reach your 250mpg calculation and I’m sure our readers would be too.
Dave, you raise a lot of good points and I understand the confusion over the 100mpg figure so let me explain as this is a contentious issue. GM likes to classify the Chevy Volt as an electric car with a range extender, whereas the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may choose to classify it as a hybrid – the classification it is ultimately given will determine its mpg rating.
Reports suggest that the Volt can make it through the EPA test cycle with the internal combustion engine running about 15 per cent of the time. This results in the EPA rating of around 100mpg (probably slightly north of that figure).
Of course, should the EPA classify the Volt as a hybrid, because it includes a petroleum engine even though it doesn’t power the transmission and only acts as a generator, EPA hybrid testing rules require that the cars finish the full suite of tests with their batteries fully charged – not at the 30 per cent the Volt is designed to retain at the end of most drives. Therefore if the tests were completed with the battery fully charged the fuel consumption rate would be around 48mpg.
Phew! I hope that explains it! Any further questions, let me know.
With regards to your points about electric cars – I agree completely. Of course unless the electric power comes from renewable sources these vehicles clearly can’t be deemed 100% emission free. Your point about battery disposal is also well made.
I hope you can understand however, that I can’t address all these points every time I post an electric car news story without bogging down the reader. However, we do examine this issue in depth in our electric car guide – so if you do want any more information on the subject, please check that out.
Thank you for your comments gentlemen.
Comment by Paul Lucas — September 18, 2008 @ 2:40 pm
Lead acid, NIMH, Li-ion and many other types of batteries are already being recycled. Disposal isn’t an issue.
As for the source of the electricity powering a PHEV or E-REV, EPRI has already studied the issue. Even if coal is the fuel for the electricity, widespread adoption of plugged in cars is a cleaner step.
Spend an hour or so and read the Press Release, Exec Summaries, Tech Primer and PHEV FAQ.
Comment by Ken Grubb — September 18, 2008 @ 9:18 pm
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