Eight years after the debut of of the original Chevrolet Volt concept at the 2007 North American International Auto Show and four years after the production launch, General Motors is ready to publicly debut the all-new second generation model. I was part of a group that got an early look at the GEN2 Volt along with the leaders of the Volt team a few days before the big show.
Then vs Now
Eight years ago, the car we saw was a pure concept, powered by golf cart motor alongside a mockup of what the E-Flex propulsion system would look like if GM actually opted to build one. The whole idea had only been thought up about nine months by former GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz and then-VP of program management Jon Laukner. Lutz and Laukner had been spitballing ideas for how to respond to the negative publicity around the film “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and the result was a extended-range electric vehicle (ER-EV). There were no firm plans at the time to actually produce the car.
This week, GM is showing a pre-poduction example of the new Volt that has actually been under active development since well before the first-generation car even hit dealerships in late 2010. When Lutz and Laukner gathered together a team to create the concept and then production car, there were no previous customers to get feedback from.
Click here to read about the original E-Flex propulsion system
This time, the Volt program leadership team spoke repeatedly of listening to the voice of the customer during the development. The original Volt was also developed under unique circumstances. Following the reveal of the concept, there was tremendous interest in a potential production version.
Click here to read about the original 2007 Chevrolet Volt Concept
Most vehicles are developed in extreme secrecy with nothing revealed until the product is almost ready for sale. GM however decided that the positive response to the Volt meant they couldn’t really keep it quiet for four years while developing a production model so they provided regular updates throughout the process. In the midst of all this, we had the financial meltdown of 2008 and the subsequent GM bailout and bankruptcy which also had the knock-on effect of transforming the car into a political football.
With GM desperately short of cash and under severe political pressure from the right, the engineering team led by vehicle line director Tony Posawatz, chief engineer Andrew Farah and powertrain chief engineer Pamela Fletcher had to make compromises. They were working with new battery technology, and had to rely on repurposing many mechanical systems from other GM vehicles. The resulting car didn’t quite hit the targets for cost, electric driving range and fuel efficiency from early 2007 the production shape crafted in the wind tunnel by Bob Boniface’s design team didn’t look like the bold but drag-heavy concept that caught everyone’s attention.
However, under the circumstances they came remarkably close and the reality is that the 2011 Volt worked very well. The 73,000 Volts sold in the past four years have accumulated more than 1.1 billion miles with more than two-thirds of that – nearly 700 million miles on electricity alone. According to GM, approximately 80 percent of Volt trips to date have been completed without burning any gasoline.
Learning From Experience
“Work on the second-generation Volt began the day we signed off on the original in the fall of 2010,” said Farah. “We’ve stayed in constant contact with owners since we began deliveries accumulated a lot of data about how the cars are actually used through OnStar.”
Goals for the new model included:
- more all-electric driving range
- better fuel efficiency in range-extended mode
- improved cabin technology
- even more fun to drive
- the ability to carry a fifth passenger
2016 Chevrolet Volt Voltec Propulsion System Components
While the basic architecture of the new Volt is the same as the original, everything has been redesigned, reworked and optimized in order to meet the goals of the program. The first car used as many off-the-shelf parts as possible so that GM could fund battery development while also going bankrupt. This time, everything is either bespoke for the Volt or at least fresh for GM.
The new car is just slightly bigger with a wheelbase that is 0.4-inch longer, 2.7-inch more overall length, and 0.8-inch more width. The lithium-ion battery pack retains it’s “T” layout spanning the distance between the rear wheels and running up through a large center tunnel.
The second-generation Chevrolet Volt uses an all-new battery system that maintains its signature t-shape configuration but uses nearly 100 fewer cells. The battery system will provide improved range while weighing 30 lbs. less than the previous battery system.
GM has again worked with cell supplier LG Chem to update the lithium-polymer pouch style prismatic cells. The cellls which are being produced at LG Chem’s factory in Holland, Mich are the same height and width but are now thicker and have increased storage capacity. At launch, the Volt battery had a capacity of 16-kilowatt-hours. An upgrade in for 2013 bumped the capacity to 17.1-kWh while the new pack can retain 18.4-kWh worth of electrons.
Thanks to the increased capacity of the thicker cells, GM has been able to reduce the number required by one-third from 288 down to 192. The reduced cell count means fewer electrical connections, which should aid reliability and durability as well as cutting manufacturing cost. The active liquid cooling system of the original has been retained, because it does aid long-term durability of the battery as well as improving performance in both cold and hot weather conditions. All of the design optimizations have helped cut the total weight of the pack by 20 pounds.
The all-new, more compact electric drive unit for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt
Even bigger changes have come to the electric drive unit. The first-generation drive unit was one of the major re-purposed parts. It began life as the two-mode hybrid transaxle for the Saturn Vue. You may be thinking to yourself, “wait, there was no two-mode hybrid Vue!” Actually, there was, and it was scheduled to go into production in December 2008, right about the time former CEO Rick Wagoner was appearing in front of congressional committees along with his Ford and Chrysler counterparts in search of a bailout. Production of the Vue hybrid was cancelled just as it was due to begin.
The fully-tooled two-motor hybrid transaxle was adapted to the Volt and paired with the aging 1.4-liter four-cylinder as a range extender. The drive unit triggered some controversy at launch because one of the drive modes at higher speeds when the battery was depleted was blending some power from the engine and sending it to the wheels leading to accusations that the car was not exclusively electric drive. This mode was used to increase overall efficiency at higher speeds and it served its purpose.
The GM-designed electric motors used in the second-generation Chevrolet Volt deliver more than 20 improvement in electric acceleration. GM engineers designed the motors to use less rare earth materials. One motor doesn’t use any rare-earth type magnets.
The new drive unit still has two motors with a combined output of 111 kW and 294 lb.-ft. of torque. The motors are an all-new GM developed design that is significantly smaller and lighter than the previous units. The main traction motor uses significantly less rare earth metals than before while the second motor which is also the generator during range-extending operation contains none at all. While GM hasn’t yet revealed the full details of the motor drive mechanism, Fletcher did say it has been reworked and the motors can now be coupled together for improved performance and efficiency.
The power electronics or Traction Power Inverter Module (TPIM) as GM calls it has now been integrated into the drive unit rather than bolted on top. This increased integration means fewer of the large, bright orange high-voltage cables under the hood, reduced cost and weight. The single biggest weight saving in the Volt is the 100 pound reduction from from this new drive unit.
The second-generation Chevrolet Volt will use an all-new Voltec drive unit and 1.5L 4-cylinder engine for extended range operation. The system was designed to be more efficient while providing increased acceleration.
The engine that comes online when the battery has been depleted is also new. The direct-injected 1.5-liter four cylinder is the first North American application of a new small engine family for GM. This engine family which was co-developed with GM’s Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industries Company and it includes three and four-cylinder direct-injected engines with and without turbochargers ranging from a 1.0 to 1.5-liters. The non-turbo engine In the Volt generates 101-horsepower, up from 84 produced by the 1.4-liter in the old car. Farah claims this lets it run at lower speeds with quieter operation and greater efficiency than before.
While first-generation Volts averaged about 900 miles between visits to the pump, many owners were not crazy about having to fill the 9.3-gallon tank with more expensive premium gasoline. The new Volt is expected to average more than 1,000 miles between fill-ups with a smaller 8.3-gallon tank. Best of all, the new engine is happy running on regular gas, even with a 12.5:1 compression ratio, thanks to the charge cooling effect of direct injection.
All of this hardware rides in a new platform that contains more high-strength steels so that it can meet newer, more stringent crash protection standards without increasing weight. Most of the bodywork is still made of steel, although the hood and liftgate are now stamped from sheets of aluminum. Overall, the shape of the car is sleeker and more sculpted than the first production model.
“We want to put some Corvette into every Chevrolet we build,” said John Caffaro, exterior design director for Chevrolet cars. “This is especially visible in the reworked dual port grille.”
More energy-efficient LED headlamps flank the closed-off upper grille, while the lower grille now has active grille shutters for improved high-speed aerodynamics. The thick black beltline trim that was meant to emulate the multi-part side glass of the concept has been dispensed with, contributing to a leaner look.
The cabin is all-new to good effect. The somewhat gimmicky, shiny plastic capacitive touch controls on the center stack have been dispensed with in favor of more functional physical switch gear. Larger, eight-inch displays are now used in the center stack and instrument cluster. The center screen is the only touch surface and provides access to a next-generation MyLink infotainment system. Details about that system will come later this spring.
The regen-on-demand feature that debuted on Cadillac ELR is now standard on Volt as well. By tapping one of the switches on the back of the steering wheel, the driver can call up some instant regenerative braking for an effect similar to a quick downshift on a conventional car. In addition to the Normal, Sport and Mountain driving modes included on the original Volt, the new model adds a Hold mode.
When Mountain mode is triggered, the minimal battery state of charge is increased in order to ensure the car has enough power to climb long mountain grades. If the battery is below this minimum, the engine is run until the battery is charged up to the higher minimum. The Hold mode triggers the charge sustaining mode to hold the battery at whatever the current state of charge is so that the available electric range can be utilized later.
The cabin dimensions haven’t changed much and this is still definitely a compact car. One of the primary complaints owners had about the original car was the two rear passenger limitation brought about by the battery pack running up the middle of the car. Cup holders were molded in between the seats to make sure no one tried to ride there. This time, GM has extended the seat cushioning across the top of the battery pack and added that third seatbelt.
The sweeping roofline of the Volt means rear headroom is tight even in the outboard seats. An average sized adult trying to occupy the raised middle hump will find they either have to hunch over or rub their head on the liftgate glass. Plus the center rider will be straddling the tunnel. Consider this extra “seat” for emergency use only and preferably for a child.
Unlike some other hybrid vehicles recently which have fallen short of EPA ratings, Volt owners have generally had little difficulty meeting the range and mileage estimates. This is one of the factors contributing to the extraordinarily high customer satisfaction ratings for the Volt. Volt also has exceptionally high conquest sales with 75 percent of customers moving from non-GM vehicles. Those customers have also become brand ambassadors for Volt and Chevrolet.
GM is projecting that the 2016 Volt will get 50 miles of all-electric range and combined fuel economy of 41 mpg in extended range mode. The nominal range is projected to be 420 miles. Fletcher projects that with the new Volt, more than 90 percent of trips will be all-electric.
One item not mentioned so far is charging. The new Volt doesn’t have level 3 DC fast charging capability and we can again thank all that OnStar data for its absence. According to the usage data, it turns out the vast majority of Volt customers have not bothered to install Level 2 chargers at home, relying instead on standard 110-volt outlets. Given the smaller size of the battery in Volt compared to other pure battery electric vehicles, and the range-extending capability, this is actually not surprising.
The GEN2 Volt can be fully charged from a 110-volt outlet in about 13 hours at 12 amps. By comparison a Nissan Leaf takes as much as 30 hours to recharge from a similar outlet. Since a Volt driver will not be stranded if the battery is depleted and they can’t find a charge station, spending anywhere from $1000-2,500 on a level 2 charger installation seems like a waste.
The 2016 Volt goes on sale this summer but GM isn’t talking pricing yet. Chances are we won’t see much of a decrease in pricing. Most of the cost reductions are likely to go toward at least trying to break even on the Volt which has almost certainly been a significant money loser from day once.
In all likelihood, the Volt will remain a niche product but if GM makes good on the projected improvements in efficiency and performance, it should do OK even if gas prices remain low. If and when GM decides to build the long-rumored CrossVolt, we may finally see some increased sales for GM’s extended-range EV technology.
