During 2008 it seemed hardly a day passed here at thegreencarwebsite.co.uk without some news breaking about the Chevy Volt. However, things have been surprisingly quiet about the eagerly anticipated vehicle for a couple of months now – so imagine our relief when two news stories broke about the Volt on the same day.
The first saw the Chevy Volt scoop the 2009 Green Vision Award at the Washington Auto Show. The vehicle was praised for its ‘bold and far-reaching approach’ to bringing fuel efficient cars to customers at an affordable price.
Then, at the same event, General Motors announced its plans for the green cars.
According to reports, GM has been examining the cities which are most prepared for and has people interested in a plug-in vehicle. The winners were San Francisco and Washington, DC – and these will be the areas in which General Motors concentrates its initial efforts towards rolling out the vehicle.
CNET reports that automakers are concerned about the lack of a public charging infrastructure and that they are working with municipalities to introduce the cars in areas with high demand first.
It is expected that Ford will undertake a similar effort. Speaking later that day, Ford VP Susan Chiske announced a plan to loan plug-in hybrid versions of the Ford Escape SUV to seven municipalities to study how prepared the electric grid is to support the cars.
The timetable for delivery of the Chevrolet Volt is 2010.
