GM's Frank Weber Espouses Easy Upgrade Path for Chevy Volt

Continuing Today's Volt Theme




Frank Weber, GM's Global Vehicle line executive, was questioned recently about the upcoming Chevy Volt and his remarks were inaccurate, to be polite. I will add my notes to the discussion below.

From Automotive News Europe:

General Motors plans to upgrade its upcoming battery-powered Chevrolet Volt once it launches late next year faster than it could overhaul a conventional vehicle, a GM executive said on Tuesday night.
(note: GM talks about upgrades a lot, even though they have not sold a single Volt)

The technology behind the all-electric Volt will allow GM to drive improvements to future versions far more quickly after the battery-powered car goes on sale in 2010, Frank Weber, GM's global vehicle line executive for the Volt, said at an event ahead of the Chicago auto show.

"This is almost like getting software updates into your car," Weber said. "This is not a mechanical world. So, even within a vehicle lifecycle you will see updates that are very significant," he said. GM expects to begin production of the Volt in 2010.

The company has not said when it expects to roll out the second generation of the vehicle, but plans to focus on cutting the size and cost of the battery are a top priority, Weber said. GM has not said how long it will take to produce an offshoot of the Volt.

(note: GM may not be around long enough to produce one Volt, much less announce a second generation)

Weber said his priorities included driving down the size and cost of the Volt's lithium-ion battery for future versions. The 400-pound (181kg) T-shaped battery pack is expected to be the Volt's most expensive element and most important component.

(note: GM only uses half the Lithium ion pack due to its frailty. Using another battery chemistry seems like a good idea to me. If they used the whole pack, its size and cost could be doubled. NiMH battery packs can access ALL their energy so why not use them instead?)

The cells for the battery will be manufactured by Korea's LG Chem. Weber said GM engineers are not focused on extending the vehicle's range beyond 40 miles (64km), a distance seen as the longest most people would drive the car on a daily basis.

(note: A very bad move, not to consider extending the range. BYD Auto in China already makes a Volt-like vehicle with 62 miles range and costs half as much as the Volt.)

"My goal is not to go from 40 to 60 miles in the next generation vehicles," Weber said of the Volt's range. Instead, he said, the battery would be half the size and half the cost of the batteries that go into the current Volt.

(note: see my comments above. It's the battery chemistry stupid)

The drive system designed by GM for the Volt could be applied across the automaker's entire lineup over time, but that is not something Weber said he envisions now.

"Before we talk about diversification on the portfolio side, there is enough market for a vehicle that provides this level of functionality and performance," he said. The Cadillac Converj concept car GM shown at the Detroit auto show in January shows the Volt system could work in a higher-cost luxury model, Weber said.

GM's Volt project sets it apart from other automakers that have been developing pure battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, Weber said.

(note: BYD Auto excepted)

GM believes the Volt's battery-driven system will remain viable over several generations, and battery technology will not progress for some time to a point where pure battery electric vehicles can range hundreds of miles at an affordable price, Weber said.

GM plans to build about 10,000 Volts in the first year of production and eventually push annual output to about 60,000. The car's battery can be recharged at a standard electric outlet. GM has said it does not expect to make money on the first generation of the Volt, making its subsequent launches more important for the struggling automaker.

(note: This is not even close enough vehicles to make any kind of difference. Frank Weber is one reason GM is in the shape it is today)