- 2011 Chevrolet Volt will now launch in seven U.S. markets.
- Locations include California, Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Washington, D.C.
- The Volt will be available nationwide within 12-18 months of initial rollout.
AUSTIN, Texas — Citing "intense interest" among U.S. consumers, General Motors on Thursday said the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will now launch late this year in seven U.S. markets, including Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Texas.
The other markets, which had been announced earlier, are California, Michigan and Washington, D.C. GM also provided a more specific timetable for the rollout of the Volt and said the gas-electric hybrid will be available in all 50 states within 12-18 months of the initial rollout.
In addition, the company said it plans to build 10,000 Volts next year and 30,000 in 2012.
"The retail launch in Texas and New York will begin with Austin and New York City in late 2010," the automaker said in a statement. "The balance of Texas and New York, as well as New Jersey and Connecticut, are scheduled to begin receiving Volts in early 2011."
Thursday's announcement still lacked such key information as Volt pricing. GM once again stated that it has not yet formalized pricing.
The Volt launch details were disclosed by GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre. He also announced that Chevrolet will add five Texas electric utilities and five Northeast utilities to a U.S. Department of Energy development and demonstration program that provides Volts and charging stations to key utilities. The program is designed to provide customer feedback, among other things.
Volt production begins in late 2010 at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck facility.
Inside Line says: GM makes the Volt more accessible to U.S. consumers, at least from a logistics standpoint. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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tbone85 says:
11:58 AM, 07/14/2010
QDP, your situation is not the same as everyone else's The Volt provides up to 14,600 miles/year on all electric power. For many drivers, they will not go beyond the 40 miles/day. Those who occaisionally go over may not see using the range extender as the portender of doom that you do.
Speculation is your right, but your inference that GM is lying prior to reviews of the car are not responsible in my book. Your other inference that the domestic manufacturers lie more than foreign manufacturers simply doesn't sound fair or accurate. We'll see when the car comes out. I hope they pull it off. If they don't, I'll be critical of a blown opportunity.
qdp says:
07:04 PM, 07/07/2010
To tbone85,
The Engine generator only produces AC eletricity, while, to my knowledge, it is DC eletricity that powers eletrical cars. That is, there must be transformation from AC to DC, so battery might play a key role in transforming,storing, distributing DC eletricity. Therefore I doubt the "seamlessly" claim.
Furthermore, if Volt gas engine, coupled with other energy saving technologies, can provids 40 to 50 mpg, GM doesn't need Volt at all, does it? In our daily life, we have so many unexpected errands, which goes way beyond 40miles in a single day. For example, after work, we usually have many unexpected trips to Walmart, resturants, or some party, etc. which go beyong your 28miles. Then we might feel guilt becasue we commit this $40K purchase for a white-elephant-type of car.
I am not against GM, but just trying to provide an counter-balanced view on Volt because, in the past, we have seen so many this type of phoney claims made by domestic auto makers. Sometimes they just try to lie through crises instead of working hard and being responsible to the public.
1919diesel says:
01:37 PM, 07/07/2010
GM engineers and product managers have publically stated that the MPG of the VOLT when running the gas engine in range extender mode (i.e. the MPG's you get after the 40 miles on battery power only) will be in excess of 40-50 MPG (in other words, as good or better than the 2010 Prius). That means the VOLT at it's worst will be as good or better than the best milage you can get from the best Hybrid gas car.
I don't think the technology will be the issue - it will be price. I agree with ed124c and others - get the price in the $30K range (after $7,500 tax credit) and GM will have trouble keeping up with demand. They can afford to only make 40K of these in 2011-2012 because I think they'll be keeping the price artificially high until they get past the 'early adopters' and start selling to more of the general public.
tbone85 says:
01:26 PM, 07/07/2010
Hi QDP,
The gas engine is intended as a range extender. One correction to my earlier statements: the battery does not recharge in extended range mode. "A gasoline/E85-powered engine generator seamlessly provides electricity to power the Volt's electric drive unit while simultaneously sustaining the charge of the battery."
I don't know how many MPG will be produced in extended mode, but it's certainly an important question to determine which drivers the car makes sense for. The Volt like most electric vehicles, will have energy saving features like electric steering, regenerative brakes, etc. It's too early to tell what the net fuel usage will be considering the efficiencies and inefficiences of the design.
Each buyer is different. I'd be more concerned about the overall fuel use/cost than what the costs are segmented by electric/extended range. My round trip commute is 28 miles. During 95% of weekdays, I'd be electric only. I'd estimate weekend days about the same as we usually take the minivan on weekend excursions. The large majority of commutes are less than 40 miles round trip, so for many people 75-95% of commute days in electric only mode will be realistic.
I don't know that I'm a Volt buyer, but I wish them luck with the roll out. If the product delivers and demand builds, economies of scale can improve the value proposition. If it works as advertised, I prefer the drive train range/security compromise of the Volt to the Leaf, and the Prius as well. If the car were priced in the mid-20s and it drove like a car, I'd definitely consider it for my needs.
All first generation products are expensive. If this is a good product that sells, other similarly designed products will emerge at different price points.
qdp says:
05:36 PM, 07/06/2010
Hi tbone85,
Those expensive non-luxury green cars, including Pruis, only make economical and enviromental sense when used for long distance commute, taxi service, or pizza delivery. Using gas engines to charge car's battery is both very slow and very fuel-ineffecient. One hour charging may only sustain in less than 20 min driving, or even much shorter in high speed driving. If you pay around $30 to 40K for Volt and get economically penalized whenever beyong 40miles, do you still think it is still a good buy? On weekend out or holiday travel, does it make sense for you to drive Volt? Even in your daily activities, we have too many expected errands which goes beyong 40miles a day! In short, Volt seems like a high price-tag but low-end green-fancy car. To me, I even don't want it to take up my garage space.
tbone85 says:
09:21 AM, 07/06/2010
QDP, we will see on your supposition on the overall fuel efficiency. For many commuters, 40 miles is longer than their daily commute. If extended beyond that range, there is the option of using gasoline power generation so you don't get stuck on the side of the road, or waste hours refueling mid-trip. The gasoline engine is designed to generate electricity as the car is being driven, AFTER the car has expended it's electric only range. If it works as designed, there is no need to charge the battery in a public parking lot.
What is the use of the car? IF it works as designed, it will eliminate 80-85% of gasoline purchases for many commuters. We will see if it works well when it premiers. It seems premature to be either a fan-boy or a hater of any product before it premiers, but this is the bloggosphere.
People will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages and make their decisions. If you disagree with those decisions, it doesn't mean people are being fooled. Perhaps they simply made up their own minds after evaluating the actual product.
qdp says:
02:54 PM, 07/05/2010
It's basically Crap. After 40 miles, when running the gas engine, Volt will be far less fuel-efficent than any conventional cars on roads due to multiple energy conversions loss (from gas engine to generator, from generator to battery, and from batter to eletric motor, and from motor to wheels). Furthermore, on highways, running 40miles is less half hour and in cities is about one hour. How much eletricity can Volt engine produces during the running period? Thus very likely, Volt has to charge its battery in public parking lots in the middle of trip, which creates enviromental noise and smog. What the use of this car is ? Fool unsophisticated consumers.
jscion says:
09:35 AM, 07/05/2010
It's a nice looking car and it would've made a great dedicated hybrid model that couldn've taken on the Prius. It's too bad this thing is going to be as expensive as a Mercedes, Lexus, Acura, and BMW. Is Chevy that confident that it can sell 10,000 $40K+ priced cars???.....RUB A LAMP GM, RUB A LAMP!!!!!!
atenza94546 says:
01:44 PM, 07/02/2010
GM Volt vs. Tesla Model S. ?
MSRP $40,000 or $50,000 ?
Volt may have an upper hand on longer driving distance.
ed124c says:
08:45 AM, 07/02/2010
Wait a minute, I thought the Volt had a blocky look to its front. What happened? This is a really good looking front end.
Too bad about the price, though. It is ominous that GM will not release pricing yet. I think this means the price will be higher than the 40K mark we have all been throwing around for more than a year.
It looks better from the front than a Fusion Hybrid, but you can get the Fusion Hybrid, discounted, at under 28K.
If the Volt comes in at 29,999-- after gov't income tax credit-- then the Volt has a chance.