Chevrolet Volt
Chevrolet Volt | |
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Front-engine, front-wheel drive |
The Chevrolet Volt is a
Sales of the 2011 Volt began in the United States in mid-December 2010, followed by various European countries and other international markets in 2011. Global combined Volt/Ampera-family sales totaled about 177,000 units by the end of October 2018. The U.S. is the leading market, with 157,054 Volts delivered through the end of 2019, followed by Canada with 16,653 Volts sold through September 2018. Just over 10,000 Opel/Vauxhall Ampera cars had been sold in Europe as of June 2016[update]. Until December 2018, the Volt/Ampera family of vehicles was the world's all-time bestselling plug-in hybrid vehicle. As of December 2019[update], the Chevrolet Volt is listed as the all-time top-selling plug-in hybrid in the American market.
The Volt operates as a pure
The second-generation Volt's improved battery system and drivetrain increased the all-electric range to 53 miles (85 km), its EPA-rated fuel economy in charge-sustaining mode to 42 mpg‑US (5.6 L/100 km; 50 mpg‑imp), and the combined city/highway fuel economy in all-electric mode to 106 MPG-e, up from 98 MPG-e. Deliveries to retail customers in the U.S. and Canada began in October 2015 as a 2016 model year.
The Volt has won several awards, including the 2009
First generation (2010–2015)
The production design model officially unveiled on September 16, 2008, as part of General Motors (GM) centennial celebration at the
After the concept was put into the pipeline for production, GM began looking for a partner to develop the Volt's
In April 2008 GM started extensive battery testing. In two years, the carmaker put the battery packs to the equivalent of 150,000 real-world miles (240,000 km) and 10 years of use.
The first pre-production test car based on the final Volt design was built in June 2009, in Warren, Michigan,[16][17] and by October 2009, 80 Volts had been built and were tested under various conditions.[17][18] On March 31, 2010, the first factory-built Volt was produced at the Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Plant to test the production line and for quality control purposes, both of the tooling and the pre-production vehicles produced before regular production began.[19][20]
Tony Posawatz was the Volt Vehicle Line Director from 2006 to 2012,[21] and he was known as employee #1 and led the team from concept to production.[22]
General Motors held a ceremony at its Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Plant on November 30, 2010, to introduce the first Chevrolet Volt off the assembly line. The first Volt built for retail sale was earmarked for display at GM's Heritage Center museum in Sterling Heights, Michigan.[23] The second unit was offered at a public auction, with an opening bid of US$50,000 and it was won by Rick Hendrick who paid US$225,000. The proceeds went to fund mathematics and sciences education in Detroit through the Detroit Public Schools Foundation.[24] Deliveries to retail customers in the United States began in mid December 2010.[25] Volt deliveries began in Canada in September 2011.[26][27] The first deliveries of the Chevrolet Volt in Europe took place in November 2011.[28][29] The European version of the Volt, the Opel Ampera, was released to retail customers in Europe in February 2012.[30] Deliveries of the right-hand drive Vauxhall Ampera in the UK began in May 2012.[28] The Holden Volt was released in Australia in December 2012.[31]
Second generation (2016–2019)
The second generation Chevrolet Volt was officially unveiled at the January 2015 North American International Auto Show.[32] Retail deliveries began in the United States and Canada in October 2015 as a 2016 model year, with 1,324 units delivered in the U.S. that month.[33][34] Availability in the American market was limited to California and the other 10 states that follow California's zero emission vehicle regulations. GM scheduled the second generation as a 2017 model year to be released in the 39 remaining states by early 2016.[33] Manufacturing of the 2017 MY Volt began in February 2016, and the first units arrived at dealerships at the end of February 2016. The 2017 model complies with stricter Tier 3 emissions requirements and was available nationwide.[35]
The second generation Volt has an upgraded powertrain with a 1.5-liter engine that uses regular gasoline; the 18.4
These improvements allow the 2016 Volt to deliver better EPA ratings than the first generation model. The all-electric range was officially rated at 53 mi (85 km), up from 38 mi (61 km) attained by the 2015 Volt. The gains in efficiency allow the second generation Volt to improve its combined fuel economy in gasoline-only (
In April 2013, CEO Daniel Akerson announced that GM expects the second generation Volt to be priced on the order of US$7,000 to US$10,000 lower than the 2013 model year with the same features.[42] The 2016 Volt pricing started at US$33,170 before any government incentives, plus US$825 for destination. The starting price was US$1,175 lower than the 2015 Volt.[43] In California, order books for the second generation Volt were opened on May 28, 2015.[44]
In July 2014, Opel announced that due to the slowdown in sales, they would discontinue the Ampera after the launch of the second generation Volt—and that between 2014 and 2018, Opel planned to introduce a successor electric vehicle in Europe.
In April 2015, General Motors confirmed that it would not build the second-generation Volt in
Reception
Awards and recognition
The Volt has received awards from multiple organizations:
U.S. organizations
- 2009 Green Car Vision Award by the Green Car Journal at the Washington Auto Show for "a bold and far-reaching approach that promises to bring an exceptionally fuel efficient model to consumers at reasonable cost."[49]
- 2011 Car and Driver Ten Best Cars. For the first time ever Car and Driver magazine included an electrically powered car among its 10 best.[50]
- 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year. The magazine commented that "In the 61-year history of the Car of the Year award, there have been few contenders as hyped – or as controversial – as the Chevrolet Volt."[51]
- 2011 Green Car of the Year by Green Car Journal. The magazine editors explained that "This award welcomes a new genre of mass-production electric vehicles to the consumer market, with the Volt as the first-ever electric vehicle to take top prize."[52]
- 2011 Automobile of the Year by Automobile Magazine. The editors commented that the Volt "...is genuinely an all-new car, in the most simplistic sense as well as in the greater notion that the Volt is unlike any vehicle we have ever driven."[53]
- 2011 North American Car of the Year announced at the 2011 North American International Auto Show. Forty-nine American and Canadian automobile writers chose the Volt. The nominees were judged based on "innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value".[54]
- Listed among the 2011 Greenest Vehicles of the Year by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.[55][56]
- Listed among the 2011 Best Green Cars by Mother Earth News.[57]
- 2011 Edison Award – Gold in the Transportation Category, Personal Transportation Segment.[58][59]
- 2012 Best Resale Value Award in the category of electric cars by Kelley Blue Book.[60]
- 2011 The Volt ranked first in Consumer Reports' list of owner-satisfaction based on its 2011 Annual Auto Survey, with 93% respondents who owned the Volt saying they definitely would purchase that same vehicle again. The magazine noted that the Volt had been on sale for just a few months at the time of the survey, and also clarified that the survey took place before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation regarding the Volt's battery fire risk.[61][62]
- 2012 Total Cost of Ownership Award in the electric car category, granted by Kelley Blue Book for the lowest projected costs during the initial five-year ownership period in its category.[63]
- 2012 The Volt ranked first, for the second year in a row, in Consumer Reports' list of owner-satisfaction based on its 2012 Annual Auto Survey, with 92% respondents who owned the Volt saying they definitely would purchase that same vehicle again.[64]
- 2016 Green Car of the Year by Green Car Journal (awarded to the second generation Volt). The Chevrolet Volt is the first model to receive this award more than once.[65]
International organizations
- 2009 Festival Automobile International awarded the Grand Prize for Environment to the Volt.[66]
- 2011 New York Auto Show.[67]
- 2012
European organizations
- 2011 Overall Winner of What Car? Green Awards, granted by the UK magazine to the Vauxhall Ampera.[70]
- 2011 Top Gear's "Green Car of the Year 2011" to the Vauxhall Ampera.[71]
- 2012 Car of the Year in Denmark. In October 2011, 18 Danish motor journalists chose the Opel Ampera as "Car of the Year 2012" by a wide margin, despite being more expensive than the family cars the award usually goes to.[72][73]
- 2012 European Car of the Year, shared by the Chevrolet Volt and the Opel/Vauxhall.[74] The Ampera/Volt became the first car developed in the U.S. to win this European award.[75][76]
- 2013 Green Mobility Trophy. Readers of Auto Zeitung in Germany awarded the Opel Ampera the trophy and named the mid-size sedan the best electric vehicle.[77]
Rest of the world organizations
- 2012 Drive's Green Innovation Award to the Holden Volt, as part of the Australia's Drive Car of the Year Awards.[78]
See also
- Cadillac ELR
- Chevrolet Spark EV
- Chevrolet Bolt
- EV Project
- General Motors EV1 – all-electric car from the 1990s
- General Motors XP-883 – plug-in hybrid from 1969
- General Motors Hy-wire – hydrogen powered
- General Motors Sequel– hydrogen powered
- Genset trailer
- Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles
- List of bestselling automobiles
- List of modern production plug-in electric vehicles
- Magna International
- Opel Flextreme – Diesel plug-in hybrid by Opel
- Revenge of the Electric Car
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Bibliography
- Edsall, Larry (2010). Endres, Chris (ed.). Chevrolet Volt: Charging into the Future. Foreword by ISBN 978-0-7603-3893-3.
- Fletcher, Seth (2011). Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars, and the New Lithium Economy (First ed.). New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN 978-0-8090-3053-8.
- Rafinejad, Dariush (2013). "Chevrolet Volt: A Disruptive Innovation Bridge to Electrified Transportation" (PDF). San Francisco, California: Presidio Graduate School. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- 2012 Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual (PDF) (First printing ed.). United States: General Motors. 2011. Part no. 20819515 A. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2013. -->
External links
- Official website (archived)
- BMW i3 REx vs. Chevrolet Volt: two different approaches to plug-in hybrids, Torque News, June 2014
- Chevrolet Volt electric range variability for different ambient temperatures
- Complete list of Chevrolet Volt awards (As of February 2014[update])
- NHTSA Interim Safety Guidance for Vehicle Owner/General Public Archived December 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- NHTSA Interim Safety Guidance for Law Enforcement/Emergency Medical Services/Fire Department Archived December 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- NHTSA Chevrolet Volt Battery Incident Report Overview, January 2012 – DOT HS 811 573
- NFPA Chevrolet Volt Emergency Response Guide Archived October 25, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- Volt Owner User Community