The next-gen 2016 Chevrolet Volt looks to be a pretty fantastic vehicle with more electric driving range, better fuel economy than its predecessor, and a lower starting price. However, if you're looking for a deal, the 2015 model of the plug-in hybrid might not be a bad place to check because Chevy has a ton of them to get rid of.
Buyers are in a pretty good spot to haggle at the moment, too, with the a new Volt right around the corner. According to The Detroit Free Press based on TrueCar figures, the current average closing price for a 2015 model is $30,607 before any federal or state tax credits. You can also lease one for 39 months for $299 a month and $1,649 due at signing. In April, Chevy was reportedly offering customers 2.9-percent financing for 48 months and leases with no money down for buyers trading in a vehicle from a competitor.
The moment General Motors rolled out the second generation, 2016 Chevrolet Volt (details) at the NAIAS in Detroit in January, you could feel the wind being let out of current Chevy’s sales (pun intended).
GM-Sourced Articles On Current Volt Talking About The Improvements They Influenced In The 2016 Model Over The Current Gen Isn’t Helping Sales Today
With limited production, few incentives, and the full force of next generation hotness on display, just 542 copies of the original edition were sold in January – dropping the Volt to the 4th position for EV sales in America for the first time.
That malaise continued into February, although the overall number rebounded a little, as 693 were sold, off 48% from 2014 when 1,210 were moved.
For the year 1,235 Volts have sold versus 2,218 a year ago. Off 42%.
And while some special interests groups with a point to prove will surely highlight current Volt sales as an indicator of what the current public demand is for the product, we know better.
The fact is, the 2015 model year Volt is just playing out the string, waiting on the summer and the arrival of the 2016 car. That being said, we still have a job to do.
But if one is looking for some highlights in February for the plug-in Chevy, all is not lost.
Despite General Motors shuttering the Volt’s Hamtramck production facility for a week this month, the company has seemingly decided they do need to produce more inventory of the current car, and national stocks of this year’s model grew by around 40% in the month, up to about 3,000 2015 MY units. The first sizeable gain pretty much since the plant was idled for 2 months last fall in preparation of new models.
How many more 2015 Volts will GM spit out before they draw the curtain on production for good, and are they producing them with the intention of selling a quantity at a reduced rate to take advantage of the profit usually found at the end of a platform’s life? We won’t know for sure for a couple more weeks.
What Is Up With The 2016 Cadillac ELR?
In other related plug-in news this month at GM:
GM North America President Batey had nothing but good things to say about the Volt recently, and confirmed that the Spark EV will remain in the Chevy lineup into MY 2016 (details)
In February GM confirmed production of the 200 mile, 2017 Chevrolet Bolt in Michigan
We learned the 2016 Volt interior was actually completed in 2013, which pretty much means that the Bolt is already in production lockdown at this point itself
The 2016 Cadillac ELR with “enhanced performance” which was originally scheduled to debut at the LA Auto Show in November (it was pulled at the last minute), was re-scheduled to appear next week at the Geneva show…now it has been pulled again. What’s up with that?
Separately, the Cadillac ELR continue to outperform last years results, with a respectable 127 moved in February, almost 120%better than a year ago when 58 were moved. Also, the Chevrolet Spark EV had a pretty decent month, selling 119 copies, 67% better than a year ago.
On January 12 in Detroit, Chevrolet revealed a hand-built pre-production example of the 2016 Chevy Volt. It was developed based upon extensive feedback from owners of the first-generation Volt who’ve praised the car, but suggested ways it could be improved.
Detroit is where the first 2007 Volt concept was revealed, Detroit is where the original pre-production car was shown, Detroit is where General Motors’ corporate headquarters is – and this was the conspicuous new car’s day to shine.
As a symbol of Chevrolet’s best engineering, alternative-energy tech, design, and connectivity in one rebooted product, the publicity show has now begun as Chevrolet’s marketers begin getting the word out approaching first deliveries the second half of this year.
Much is already known about the fully revised car although road tests and closer scrutiny have yet to happen. In anticipation of more info to come, we sat down with Pam Fletcher and Andrew Farah, GM’s two top engineers overseeing the project, and following are ways they say the 2016 Volt has been improved.
Electric Range
The Volt is all about its powertrain, and most importantly, its gasoline-eschewing electric range expected to be EPA-rated at 50 miles compared to the outgoing car’s 38 miles.
A similar T-shaped lithium-ion battery rated at 18.4 kilowatt hours with fewer but more-efficient LG Chem pouch cells replaces the 2015 Volt’s 17.1 kwh while trimming overall weight by 20 pounds.
Chevrolet officially cites a “30-percent” range increase but this may be 25-42 percent depending on model year of gen-one Volt discussed. The 2011-2012 Volt had a 16.0-kwh pack and 35 miles range. The 2013-2014 had 16.5 kwh and 38 miles rane, and the 2015 has 17.1 kwh — and GM never recertified it so on paper it has 38 miles range despite 0.6-kwh more battery capacity which should be good for 40 or so miles.
Cell storage capacity is 20 percent higher by volume; number of cells decreased from 288 to 192. Discharge rate is 120 kilowatts compared to former 110-kw. This aids performance.
In any case, the 2016 Volt now uses a higher percentage of its total battery capacity as Cadillac did with the ELR, and leaves a slimmer “buffer” of unused energy.
You may note capacity increased only 7.5 percent from 17.1 to 18.4 kwh while 50-miles is an effective increase of 25 percent over the 2015 Volt that might have gone 40 miles.
More of the 2016 Volt’s newfound range and energy usage also comes from up to a 12-percent improvement in the drive unit’s efficiency – the “drive unit” is essentially the transmission paired with two integral motors.
The two-motor drive unit is 5 to 12 percent more efficient, weighs 100 pounds (45 kg) less. The Traction Power Inverter Module (TPIM), which manages power flow between battery and drive motors is built into the drive unit. This cuts mass, size, complexity, eliminates orange high voltage wires under the good, and improves efficiency. Both motors in the new drive unit operate together in more driving scenarios, in both EV and extended-range mode and performance is boosted with more than 20-percent better acceleration.
GM’s OnStar telematics data reveals present Volt drivers travel an average 900 miles between fill-ups and the new car should average 1,000 or more.
The 2016 Volt’s sealed steel gasoline tank has 8.9 gallon capacity and will require fewer gas stops assuming drivers plug-in to get their recommended daily allowance of 50 electric miles – a number that will diminish in cold weather, and will be exceeded under ideal conditions.
This would work out to around 112 mpg – plus electricity costs which are a fraction of gasoline costs even at present low average fuel prices.
The “Voltec” permanent magnet electric motors require less rare earth materials with one using no rare earth-type magnets.
In actuality, 1,000 miles between fill-ups is conservative, and GM’s Executive Chief Engineer for Electric Vehicles Pam Fletcher conjectured many drivers may see 1,500 miles between fill-ups for the extended-range EV.
In short, the new Volt is an EV with 50 miles range plus 370 miles gas range. The Nissan Leaf by contrast offers 84 miles combined EV range, but has no gasoline backup – or liquid heating and cooling for its battery which has not proven as durable as the Volt’s “pharmaceutical grade” pack and its mere two problems per million cells produced.
One carryover is the engine in cold weather will still come on, a condition known as ERDTT – Engine Running Due To Temperature. Fletcher said Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards mandate the defroster work fast enough, and the engine may be called into duty in cold weather to the chagrin of gas-averse Volt drivers.
No other plug-in gas-electric car – excluding BMW i3 REx) offers this much all-electric range. If one’s driving is within EV range, the gas practically need never be used. This also means the engine gets spared, oil changes and maintenance come at long intervals.
Fuel may be called into use in cold weather to augment the electric HVAC system, and because gasoline itself does have a shelf life.
The sealed system preserves the gas for up to one year, at which point the ECU will burn it off before it gets stale. Volt driverswho’ve made a game of beating the need for gas have gone for hundreds of miles and well over a thousand miles without using gas.
The 2016 Volt’s 25-30-percent extra e-range makes this all the more possible.
Gas Mileage
Fuel usage will be less because due to the 2016′s expected EPA-rated consumption boosted to 41 mpg combined compared to the former 37 mpg.
That’s four mpg better from an all-aluminum Ecotec engine seeing first North American usage in the Volt compared to the former 1.4-liter. Costs will be further reduced because it uses regular instead of formerly required premium costing on average 40 cents more per gallon.
The 1.5-liter Ecotec features direct fuel injection, high 12.5:1 compression ratio, cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and variable displacement oil pump, and uses regular unleaded gasoline. It will be initially built in Toluca, Mexico and after a $215 million renovation is complete, production will switch to the Flint, Mich. engine plant.
The Volt’s engine by the way does not run when the car is operating on electric power in EV mode. It is in the car as a generator that produces backup energy to power the electric drive unit as well as maintaing the battery state of charge. The engine comes on when the ECU says the battery reaches its “empty” level.
Volt enthusiasts know this as charge-sustaining mode as the generator does not recharge the battery to full. Also not always explained is when in CS mode, battery power may still be drawn upon for higher load demands, such as flooring it to pass someone. In most cases in the drive cycle, even with engine running, the engine is not mechanically connected to the drive wheels and the car is being propelled electrically. At certain points between 55-70 mph or so, the engine can drive the wheels in CS mode. This was done for improved efficiency under these conditions.
Power
The Volt’s new drive unit produces the exact same 149 horsepower (111 kw) as the the outgoing drive unit’s, but with increased torque of 294 pounds feet (398 Nm) compared to the 2011-2015 model’s 273 pounds-feet (370 Nm).
Its new 0-60 mph time is quicker by a half second at 8.4 seconds estimated, and the 0-30 time has been cut by 30 percent to 2.6 seconds. Top speed is now 98 mph, down a couple mph from gen one.
New Platform
The 2016 Volt is the first full redesign for any plug-in vehicle and has received the first North American application of GM’s flexible new Delta II platform.
“The new platform allowed the team to look at every facet of the vehicle from the ground, up,” said Kevin Kelly, manager, Electric Vehicle and Hybrid Communications. “The benefits include improved handling, NVH [noise, vibration, harshness] performance and expanded use of high strength steel throughout the structure for reduced weight, to name a few.”
The new Volt now weighs 243 pounds less while being 3.3 inches longer and 0.8-inches wider.
Fifth Passenger Space
The rear seating area now has seatbelts for five but the middle spot is going to be most comfortable for a smaller person or child. It allows an easier time of attaching a child safety seat too, but otherwise was called a “convenience measure” by chief Volt engineer Andrew Farah.
Rear legroom also increased by 0.6 inches while rear headroom actually shrunk by 0.2 inches. The Volt is still a compact car.
At customer request, Farah said the rear seating is “improved.” Touches include changing the rear door pad shape to let feet swing in easier, there’s more foot room when seated, and ingress and egress are overall better.
“Trying is believing and all you have to do is get in a new one to notice the difference,” said Farah.
Design/Styling
Beauty is subjective but many people have said they like the new look.
Chevrolet says it folded in subtle cues from sportier cars in the GM family, and the sleek car is fresh inside as well.
The new Volt offers Chevrolet’s full suite of technologies including 4G LTE WiFi that’s capable of wirelessly connecting multiple devices. The vehicle also has OnStar telematics, 10 airbags, numerous other safety features, and latest infotainment interface.
As was true on the generation one car, data is extensive including capability to set charging for off-peak hours, set the charging amperage (rate of charge), and monitor how efficiently the car is using energy among other things.
“As a direct result of customer feedback we did things like added an optional illuminated charge port, revised the travel cord set storage location and added unique charging features like location-based charging,” said Kelly.
Being a new design, the 2016 Volt benefits from just beginning its life cycle and should keep the look for several years. How this will specifically affect resale value remains to be seen, but it should help.
Price
One pressing unanswered question is how much the 2016 Volt will cost and this will be announced closer to launch.
The Volt is being positioned as a “premium” car but observers are speculating it won’t cost much more if at all more than the present subsidy eligible Volt’s $34,995. Some also guess it could come in at less. GM did pare an untold amount of production costs from the new Volt while saying it has improved it in nearly every respect.
Symbolic Product
The first generation Volt received outsized publicity during the four years since its December 2010 launch, and even since GM began its development last decade. It’s been presented as an American-born solution, has been targeted by some who’ve spoken critically alongside seriously enthusiastic fans.
It’s as much a symbol as it is a product.
As was the case before, it’s believed Chevrolet will provide Cadillac-like levels of customer care for Volt drivers including toll-free “Volt Advisors.”
GM has high hopes that having paid its dues, selling 75,000 to date, and folding in lessons and feedback it will be well received by existing fans and early adopters, as well as by “fast followers” ready to consider this evolved car.
The show car is as the production version will be but “under the skin” GM is tweaking and finalizing things. Fletcher was hesitant to say what percent production-ready it is now, saying engineers are still at work polishing it off for customers with high expectations.
“They want it to be perfect,” she said of customers.
Without a doubt, Chevrolet dominated the news in plug-in electric cars at the recent Detroit Auto Show.
It unveiled not only the new 2016 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, but also a concept that showed what a 2018 battery-electric hatchback with a 200-mile range might look like.
The subcompact concept was called the Bolt. No, not Volt: Bolt.
Or, as reporters found ourselves saying by the end of the show: "Bolt-with-a-B, not Volt-with-a-V."
Which highlights the challenges that would follow if Chevy actually gave the electric car--which will reportedly go into production in mid-2017--a name so similar to "Volt" that many people don't hear the difference.
Especially some Spanish speakers, for whom "V" sounds are pronounced with a "B" anyhow.
Chevrolet Bolt EV concept, 2015 Detroit Auto Show
One reporter noted that while interviewing GM executives about the concept, he was asked no fewer than four times what he thought about the name.
Clearly, Chevrolet is at least considering renaming the car. So the problem then becomes what to call it.
That's where a few electric-car advocates come in, having floated the idea that it should be called the "EV2" on forums and in private discussions.
The name EV2 would be a nod to GM's long history in electric cars, making the Bolt the logical follow-on to the General Motors EV1.
Several hundred of the much-loved but ill-fated battery-electric two-seaters were leased in California from 1996 through 1999, after which GM took back the cars and notoriously crushed them.
GM's former CEO, Rick Wagoner, later said that killing the EV1 was the decision he most regretted from his tenure at the company (during which tens of billions of dollars of shareholder value were destroyed, ending in bankruptcy).
GM EV1 electric car at Missouri S&T, Rolla, Missouri [photo: Jalopnik/Joel Johnson]
So calling the Bolt the EV2 might signal GM atoning for its sins, at least in the eyes of the electric-car faithful. The name would likely mean little or nothing to the broader buying public.
But, it raises another question: What does GM have to do to be forgiven for killing the EV1? In some eyes, it seems, there will never be forgiveness.
"I don't care how far you can drive on a Bolt, I would never buy a GM Electric car after what they did with the EV-1 from 1996 [to] 1999," wrote one member of a Nissan Leaf online forum.
"For those of you who never knew of this vehicle, look it up. I'm not bashing GM, I don't trust them."
Nonetheless, GM has sold more plug-in vehicles in the U.S. since Dec 2010 than any other maker, although Nissan could take that title this year.
Leaf sales are growing steadily, while the runout of the first-generation Volt will continue before the launch of the 2016 Volt in the second half of the year.
Chevrolet Bolt EV concept, 2015 Detroit Auto Show
Electric-car advocates unwilling to move on may want to ask, however: Does the same logic apply to refusing ever to buy a Ford, given the well-documented and virulent anti-Semitism of Henry Ford during the first half of the last century?
GM is clearly determined to be among the world's major electric-car makers, along with Nissan, Tesla, and a small handful of other global makers.
That's largely due to the tougher CAFE standards through 2025 that were enacted in 2009 and 2010--but GM undeniably retains huge institutional knowledge in electrified cars.
Whether it would nod to the past with the name EV2, or set a fresh course with another name (not Bolt, please), may indicate how the company views its checkered past in electric vehicles.
Chevrolet Bolt EV concept, 2015 Detroit Auto Show
We're betting against the name EV2 for several reasons:
All Chevies (except the low-volume SS sport sedan) use words as model names;
The word "EV" is highly specialized (the public just says "electric cars"); and
We doubt very much GM has any interest at all in looking back to that episode.
General Motors Co. plans to launch a $30,000 electric
vehicle called the Chevrolet Bolt that would be capable of
driving 200 miles on a charge by 2017, according to people
familiar with the strategy, a move to gain ground on Tesla
Motors Inc.
GM will show off a concept version of the Bolt on Monday at
the Detroit auto show, eight years after the auto giant
disclosed it would re-enter the electric car market with the
Chevrolet Volt. The Volt, on sale since late 2010 and
redesigned for 2015, is being upgraded to get better
capability and sharper design, and has a backup gasoline motor
on board in case juice runs out.
The Chevy Bolt, carrying a more capable battery manufactured
by South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. , will be aimed
squarely at Tesla’s forthcoming Model 3, a $35,000 electric
car also slated to debut in 2017. The concept version of the
electric car will be a hatchback designed to look more like a
so-called crossover vehicle, according to people familiar with
the design. The Bolt will be capable of driving four times
farther than a Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid on a single
charge.
GM has thus far struck out in its attempt to match its
Silicon Valley rival. Recently, GM launched a $75,000 Cadillac
ELR plug-in car that failed to dent Tesla’s dominance among
luxury electric-vehicle buyers who have clamored for the Model
S sedan.
By placing the Bolt in the high-volume Chevrolet line and
giving it a name similar to the Volt, executives hope to
polish Chevy’s image as a full-line vehicle manufacturer
prepared to meet demand, regardless of prices at the pump,
according to people familiar with the strategy. GM expects the
Bolt to compete globally, including in markets such as China.
It is unclear if a car similar to the Bolt would be inserted
in the Opel, Cadillac or Buick brands down the road.
The Bolt represents the biggest risk taken by Chief Executive Mary
Barra since taking GM’s helm a year ago. Its development
was approved when she was product chief under former CEO Dan
Akerson . But U.S. gasoline prices have fallen below $2 a
gallon this year, hurting demand for electric cars.
While Tesla has sold relatively few Model S sedans since
putting the car on sale in 2012, the Palo Alto, Calif., auto
maker’s shares have soared on investor hopes for the company’s
future.
Over Ms. Barra’s first year at GM’s helm, company shares fell
14% while Telsa shares soared 48%. Ms. Barra aims to have up
to 500,000 electrified vehicles—including vehicles with
partial-electric capabilities—on the road by 2017. In
contrast, Tesla CEO Elon
Musk has said he envisions up to 500,000 annual Tesla
sales of pure electrics by 2020.
One factor motivating Ms. Barra is meeting regulations in the
U.S., Europe and Asia that penalize full-line manufacturers
when they sell too high a concentration of trucks and
sport-utility vehicles, which are GM’s sweet spots. Ms. Barra,
however, has insisted the company won’t build electric
vehicles just “to check a regulatory box.”
AutoNation Inc. CEO Mike
Jackson , who runs the largest U.S. auto retailer, said
a vehicle like the Bolt shows a new attitude atop GM. The auto
maker is now making big profits in the U.S. on its new trucks
and SUVs in an era of low gas prices making the investment
into more capable electric vehicles look more like a moonshot
than a sound business decision.
“The old GM would have milked the cash cow until it was dry,”
Mr. Jackson said in an interview. The new GM, he said, is
showing signs that it is willing to take the long view. He
estimates electric cars will compose 2% of the U.S. market, at
most, in five years. “The industry will lose money on it,” he
said.
GM’s track record with electrics remains spotty. The company
shut down EV1 production in 1999, pulling the plug on a $1
billion electric-vehicle program that had impressed regulators
but failed to reach commercial viability.
The Volt project started several years later. Heavily hyped
by former GM CEOs and legendary product development chief Bob
Lutz, the $35,000 car has been a disappointment despite hefty
government subsidies.
Less than 90,000 Volts have sold globally since it went on
sale in late 2010, and only 1,500 were delivered in December.
The introduction of pure electric vehicles, such as
Nissan Motor Co. ’s Leaf (which achieves 75 miles on a
charge), and the relative success of Tesla’s pricey but more
capable Model S sedan has overshadowed GM’s efforts.
The Volt is set for an overhaul in 2015. But it will be a
smaller part of GM’s strategy than initially expected.
For Ms. Barra and other GM engineers, the Bolt’s proposed
200-mile range is critical because it is seen as addressing
concerns about range long associated with electric cars, one
person involved in the car’s development said. “Two hundred
miles is seen as some sort of barrier where the notion of
range anxiety goes away,” this person said.
Tesla has said its Model 3, due in 2017, will achieve about
200 miles on a charge. While less capable than the 85 kwh
Model S, Mr. Musk plans to offer the Model 3 at a fraction of
the price.
By the time the Bolt and the Model 3 hit the market, an
onslaught of competitors, mostly from Europe, are expected to
have long-range EVs available. Those cars, which could get
more range, will likely be far more expensive than the Chevy.
While the electric car GM plans to build is far bigger than
the economy car that has long been rumored, the Bolt will be
smaller than Tesla’s Model S. The pouch battery cells that LG
uses gives the auto maker flexibility to tuck the battery pack
into a unique design in the vehicle.
The pack for GM’s new vehicle could be built in LG Chem’s
Holland, Mich., plant, where the Volt batteries currently are
made by the same supplier. That plant would have a capacity to
build about 60,000 Volt battery packs, or 20,000 of the larger
packs for a new EV, or a mixture of the two.
LG Chems’s battery improvements to make it possible to for GM
to create the low-cost EV include better durability and
electrical controls. Also, LG will use more of the available
storage capacity in the cell than it does on the Volt. Plug-in
hybrids can use less available storage capacity because of the
constant charging from the gasoline engine. If more charge is
used, it would limit the life of the battery.
“We have progressed far enough that it gives us a high level
of confidence that in the 2017 kind of a time frame, there are
no show stoppers or gotchas that we don’t know how to get
over,” Prabhakar Patil, the chief executive of LG Chem Power
Inc., the U.S.-based battery arm of the Korean electronics
giant, said in an interview.
![GM EV1 electric car at Missouri S&T, Rolla, Missouri [photo: Jalopnik/Joel Johnson]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vXYJq4v-9jyWJ1mHT_jXCXhPx6b6BN4XI1ha4Rf-uXsppI-nYF88wcltVkhMnaANATdl9Vc60MJnJseFOjMxR5jYLmoPS0PQYY4FBmFkEFPSYSrnJTcQVtS_PXZ1bbuAIrB4l7nsvpI-MZD9qYtLgdyKGtcUBwndOofmQ5abcvR2nJFp5ltoETFzfZ5FR6bpq9BR7ovCkVSXEa8wcgzAqRrlKLd9oR5Q=s0-d "GM EV1 electric car at Missouri S&T, Rolla, Missouri [photo: Jalopnik/Joel Johnson]")
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