Chevy Volt Meeting Range Targets and On Track For November Production

The 2011 Chevy Volt












Chevy Volt Chief Engineer, Andrew Farah announced recent calibration drives of pre-production Chevrolet Volt electric vehicles have achieved up to 39.9 miles (64.2 km) of emission-free, electric-only driving range at a Monday news conference.

The Volt recently completed a round of cold weather testing in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, and will undergo additional hot weather testing in Yuma, AZ, in June and July.

Apparently, the Volt remains on schedule for start of regular production this November. Farah also said more than 500,000 test miles (805,000 km) have already been put on the pre-production Volt vehicles.

Farah said engineers at GM’s Warren, Mich., Technical Center will begin building pre-production versions of the Ampera (the Opel cousin of the Volt) later this month in preparation for its launch in Europe for the 2012 model year.

Micky Bly, GM’s executive director of global electrical systems, hybrids, electric vehicles & batteries said more than 300 pre-production packs were slated to be built at GM’s Brownstown, Mich., battery plant.

So far, more than 850,000 miles (1.4 million km) of customer use lab testing have been completed on the battery pack design for the Volt and Ampera. Bly said the team continues to study additional applications of the Voltec battery-based propulsion system in future vehicles, although no details were provided.

Remarkably, the Chevy Volt run-up to production has met no serious roadblocks. Every milestone has been met and the battery packs are delivering as promised, with 40 miles all electric range. GM really needs to announce a firm sales price at this point and then let the dealers place their initial orders.