Now it turns out that GM has effectively acknowledged that Toyota was actually right back in 2007 when they said a power-split hybrid like they use would be more efficient than the series hybrid originally intended for the Volt.
The New Volt: More Hybrid & More Electric In a somewhat ironic twist on the original and short-lived advertising tagline for the Chevrolet Volt, when the all-new second-generation Volt goes on sale this summer, it will be both more hybrid …
If true, and that is a very big IF, this could be a game changer for electric vehicles
The price point, at least in the first couple of years until the EV tax credits expire would put the Bolt right in the heart of the mainstream market with a range that almost anyone can live with.
#TBT After I first wrote about the original concept eight years ago this week, I followed the car all the way to production. Along the way, in November 2009, I was fortunate enough to be among the first group other than GM engineers to get behind the wheel of the Volt with chief engineer Andrew Farah riding shotgun. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/30/2011-chevrolet-volt-quick-spin/?
#TBT After I first wrote about the original concept eight years ago this week, I followed the car all the way to production. Along the way, in November 2009, I was fortunate enough to be among the first group other than GM engineers to get behind the wheel of the Volt with chief engineer Andrew Farah riding shotgun. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/30/2011-chevrolet-volt-quick-spin/?
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.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Chevrolet will reveal a new electric car concept with a 200-mile range on Monday morning at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. We already know for a fact that Chevrolet will show the all-new second-generation Volt at the show (check back here after 12:01am EST on Monday, January 12 for my thoughts on this car) but I personally believe that showing the new concept would be insane.
It has previously been reported that Chevrolet has registered a trademark for the name Bolt, and GM executive vice-president for global product development Mark Reuss has acknowledged that the company planning a new EV with a 200-mile range for the 2017 time frame. We’ll just stipulate Chevrolet will in fact build a 200-mile EV called the Bolt at some time in the next two to three years.
My problem is with the idea that Chevrolet would show this car alongside the new Volt. GM designers and engineers have spent the past four years and at least hundreds of millions of dollars developing a second-generation Volt. No doubt, a big part of that effort went to reducing the manufacturing and part costs in the hope of at least breaking even if not making a profit on Volt. GM will want to sell as many gen-2 Volts as possible both to recover that investment and also to boost the company’s corporate average fuel economy numbers.
We have no idea how much the new Volt will cost, but I’m guessing it’s not going to drop much below $30,000 if it drops at all. Based on the photos of camouflaged prototypes released by GM, the new car doesn’t look like it’s going by much larger or roomier than the original.
According to the WSJ report, GM is targeting a starting price of just $30,000 for the Bolt. The Bolt is also expected to be larger than the Volt. Looking at this purely from a marketing perspective, why would you show a battery electric car with perhaps three to four times as much range, more space and a potentially lower price that won’t be available for two more years next to a car that you need to sell right now?
I can certainly understand wanting to get Bolt out ahead of Tesla and their Model 3. However, given Tesla’s track record for delivering products on time (reminder, they have never delivered anything on time), GM will probably be first to market. However, there is absolutely no reason to show the car now. I would wait until at least the LA Auto Show in November after people have driven the new Volt or perhaps the 2016 Detroit Show. What customer would even consider a Volt if they new the Bolt was coming?
Whoever might have thought showing a Bolt concept now should perhaps be relegated to the same dark corner as the marketer that came up with the infamous Volt dance at the 2009 LA Auto Show.
