It is one of the most talked about vehicles in generations – but just how quickly will the Chevrolet Volt reach the average consumer?
According to new information from the company, Chevrolet plans to produce 10,000 Volt extended range electric vehicles by the end of 2011 with an additional 30,000 Volts to be produced during 2012.
Marketing director Tony DiSalle made the announcement during a live video webcast and confirmed that the first Volts available for retail sales will be sold in Washington, DC; Austin, Texas; the New York City metropolitan area; and California later this year. From there, Volts will expand to dealerships in Michigan, New York, Texas, New Jersey and Connecticut during the first quarter of 2011.
In a separate announcement, GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre declared that Chevrolet will add five Texas electric utilities and five Northeast utilities to a Department of Energy development and demonstration programme that will provide Volts and charging stations. This allows the utilities to study charging station installation processes, as well as vehicle charging and customer feedback. The Texas utilities will include: Austin Energy, CenterPoint Energy, CPS Energy, Oncor, and American Electric Power; while in the Northeast, Chevrolet is partnering with Con Edison, New York Power Authority, Northeast Utilities, National Grid, and Public Service Electric and Gas.
Dealers will also be required to complete specialised sales and service training and install 240V charging stations at their dealership before receiving the vehicle for retail sales. Chevrolet then expects a nationwide service coverage to be available during the 12-18month national rollout.
