Ampera becomes a police car in Northern Ireland

The Chevy Volt’s UK cousin, the Vauxhall Ampera, is joining the police force in Northern Ireland.

Vauxhall has handed over an Ampera to Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) as part of a trial of the revolutionary extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV).

The cutting edge vehicle was handed over at eDRIVE, an electric vehicle event sponsored by the Northern Ireland Government, Department of Regional Development, held at the Titanic Museum, in Belfast.

The Ampera is due to go on service with PSNI in Belfast city centre as an incident response vehicle.

“We’re looking forward to putting the revolutionary Ampera through its paces responding to incidents while also reducing our emissions and providing significant savings on fuel costs,” said Marcus Belshaw, Head of Transport for PSNI.

The lack of concern about range anxiety was key for the car being chosen for this task, even though charging point infrastructure is well developed in Northern Ireland: currently EV owners are no further than ten miles from a charger.

“Vauxhall is delighted that the Ampera is being trialled by PSNI, and we are confident that they will be impressed by the Ampera’s durability, performance and economy,” said Dick Ellam, manager, Vauxhall Special Vehicles.

Source: GM-Volt.com

Vauxhall Ampera Tries its Luck as an Ambulance Apprentice

The Vauxhall Ampera, which is the European version of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, is going to be incorporated into the emergency fleet of the United Kingdom’s NHS Trust. The United Kingdom’s Yorkshire ambulance service would like to see how vehicles like this could be incorporated into such a fleet and reduce its carbon footprint and fuel expenditure by 30% by 2015.

Richard Smith, the Fleet Manager for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “We are very excited to be the first ambulance service to trial an electric vehicle that will respond to incidents, reduce our emissions and provide significant savings on fuel costs.  As it has both electric and petrol power we are confident that it is a viable alternative.”

This is reminiscent of the Hong Kong police force’s decision to replace their gasoline-fueled motorcycles with Brammo electric motorcycles. Municpalities the world over are exploring alternative fuel and electric vehicles as alternatives to petrol-powered cars, as the price of oil inches ever higher. But will Americans ever see Chevy Volt cop cars or ambulances? We won’t hold our breath.

Source: CarScoops

Chevy Volt Vehicles Outsell All Plug-In Cars in the U.S, and Here is Why

Chevy Volt sales may be seem low, but they still outsold the rest of the plug-in cars on the U.S market in 2012. In 2012, they accounted for 45% of all plug-in electric car sales in the United States, at 23,461 units, and when you account for the Volt’s European cousin, the Opel Ampera, the picture looks even rosier.

The ChevyVolt is sold worldwide, however, most of them are sold in the United States. Outside of the U.S.A, far fewer Volts have been sold. They are for sale in not only the United States, but Canada, most of Europe, China, and Australia. People in countries in which they are not sold, will travel to the U.S, buy them, and literally ship them to their country themselves.

Outside of the U.S, worldwide, only 1,336 were sold, 1,225 of which were sold in Canada. In China and Europe combined, only 111 Volts were sold. But the Chevy Volt also sold as the Opel and Vauxhall Ampera, so there are three brands selling the same car. Opel is German, and the Vauxhall version is right hand drive, and for the U.K. GM sold 5,293 Ampera cars. This is still only a quarter of the Chevy Volt sales in the U.S, but still 48 times more than the 111 Volt sales in China and Europe.

Combined, worldwide sales of the Volt and Ampera were 30,090 which, while still short of GM’s 40,000 unit goal, is surprisingly strong given the endless criticism of GM’s plug-in hybrid. Based on the pattern of Volt sales in 2012, there is likely to be a substantial increase this year, and another in the future as a price drop is expected.

Source: Green Car Reports

Toyota Prius Plug-In wins 2012 sales battle in UK

The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid was the top selling plug-in hybrid vehicle in the United Kingdom, with 470 sold since being introduced to the market in July 2012. That means the Prius Plug-in Hybrid outsold theVauxhall Ampera plug-in hybrid, Toyota says. The sales lead happened even though the Ampera was launched in the UK market three months earlier than the PHEV Prius. The Ampera is GM's European version of the Chevrolet Volt.

Toyota sold 12,840 hybrid vehicles in the UK, an increase of 15.2 percent over 2011. Adding three models to the lineup – the Yaris Hybrid, seven-seat Prius+ (aka the Prius V) and the Prius Plug-in joined the existing Prius and Auris Hybrid models – helped boost sales. The Auris Hybrid was launched in December and is the latest Toyota model to feature a full hybrid powertrain. It offers fuel economy of 76.3 miles per gallon (based on the UK's fuel economy guidelines) and CO2 emissions of 87 grams per kilometer.

The Auris Hybrid offers fuel economy of 76.3 miles per gallon.

Vaxhall is attempting to build consumer enthusiasm for the Ampera by offering UK residents a 30-day holiday-themed "satisfaction guarantee" on the Ampera. During that time, drivers can return the car with "no questions asked." In March of last year, the Ampera and Volt had won the European Car of the Year Award, but it is taking some time to catch on in the UK.

While the Prius Plug-in surpassed the Ampera in sales last year, the numbers are not much compared to the US market, where the Prius Plug-in is number two behind the Volt in 2012 plug-in vehicle sales. There's no clear direction in the UK market on how to further increase plug-in electric vehicle sales, since the government has burned out on offering incentives.

A study by two UK organizations states that giving consumers their own EV driving experience is the way to go. A report by the Royal Automobile Club Foundation and British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association says that the best way to put more EVs on British roads is by getting more of them into the rental market.

Volt is top plug-in again; Voltec line underway but under wraps

By now most Volt followers know the car set another record of 2,851 sales in September – a 0.7-percent increase over the 2,831 sold in August – and the good news for Voltec fans beyond this is GM says it is definitely committed to its plug-in technology.

For all the critical media questions about the Volt’s relative success, the Volt for now remains heads above the plug-in car market but with others gunning for it even so.

Its 16,348 year-to-date sales surpass the March-launched, and not fully rolled out plug-in Priuswhich may be catching up with 1,652 sales in September, a sizable 57-percent increase from August sales, and 7,734 sales year to date.

 

Richard Harrison of Keego Harbor, Michigan charges his 2012 Volt Saturday, September 22, 2012 at Serra Chevrolet in Southfield, MI. This month, by the way, the Volt would rank 5th on the hybrid sales chart, but in an a first abbreviated month, Ford’s C-Maxhybrid placed 9th and Ford has electrified plans besides this.
 

Nissan’s Leaf also saw a year-to-date record 984 units sold in September representing a big 43.6 percent rise over August sales but it has just 5,212 year to date.

For all intents and purposes, these are the only solid players in the plug-in market at this juncture – not counting Tesla and its high aspirations but with maybe 250 Model S units sold so far, and Fisker having sold over 2,500 or more Karmas this year, as speculators have guessed.

 

 

In trying to learn more about GM’s aspirations for Voltec, and why its next move is up market instead of down, we spoke yesterday with GM electrified vehicle communications personnel, probing for what we could about pending plans.

As you likely know, the Cadillac ELR is the next Voltec variant on the roster pending production. Despite all the rumors, the 2014 model year launch date is not official, but we otherwise have reason to believe it is a good guess.

But what about down-market Voltec options?

Wasn’t the Volt once upon a time during its development supposed to cost comfortably around $30,000 without discounts or incentives?

Wasn’t Voltec an answer to OPEC and environmental concerns? The Volt is the king of a small hill, but as many here have observed, opportunities to flesh out a product line remain. Right?

So, we asked GM, how is it going to change the world if to date we’ve seen 16,000 units sold out of around 10.8 million total vehicles sold in North America?

Of course Voltec is not expected to have taken over so soon, but GM has reduced sales projections, and is saying nothing definitive about variants that could help fill out a bread-and-butter model line and create far more momentum for GM’s E-REV technology.

Unfortunately, the answer is GM is not even prepared to discuss how it sees the upscale ELR fitting into the market, and what its expectations for that car will be. It got started in 2009 as the Converj concept, so the ball was already sort of rolling before Volt was launched.

GM showed the MPV5 crossover in China, and no doubt it has R&D going on to see what other models could be marketable.

So, pressing anyway, we asked, wouldn’t it be in GM’s interest to proliferate cars below the $40,000 MSRP line?

Yes it would, but GM is keeping these details to itself for the time being even as it works on ways to cut existing cost out of the production Volt, and develops other electrified vehicles like the Spark EV and eAssist mild hybrid variants.

And while Voltec is an important part of its strategy, GM is not putting all its eggs in a Voltec basket.

 

 

So as much as you’d like to know timing and details of what’s next for Voltec – like in the good old days when the company was more willing to share during the Volt’s development from 2007-2010 – GM’s communications strategy has shifted.

Why? Nearly every other automaker is now working on plug-in cars, including three startups in California, and it is not in GM’s interest to tip its hand.

What is possible in terms of cost, features and performance actually is not something GM sees as in its best interest to broadcast when such news would fall on the listening ears of competitors as well as the general public.

So for now, advanced Voltec news will likely continue to come from rumors, but officially, GM says it is working on a variety of options that will “meet customer expectations.”

Or … we can wait for new light on the ELR at least from George S. Bower, who says he has the ELR “already figured out.”

GSB will have that for us next week, but meanwhile we also have the Volt’s progress to track.

While more often we hear GM is only “matching supply with demand,” Bloomberg reported GM Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said in June he expected as many as 40,000 global Volt sales this year.

European sales data has been difficult to get in a timely manner, but last we heard from Europe, the Volt/Ampera is on track to exceed its allocation of 10,000 cars this year. And then you have a small number in other markets like Canada, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, China …

To date the Volt has sold 16,348 in the U.S. and there are three months to go. If GM conservatively sells 2,500 per month, that’s another 7,500, which added to 10,000-plus exports would bring the total to somewhere around only 34,000-plus globally, not quite 40,000.

 

It’s a beaut and should cause concerns for Tesla, Fisker and Infiniti.
 

Let’s see if Europe/UK sells more than 10,000, and what Canada and Australia do. If it is only 10,000-15,000 worldwide units exported in all, then GM may either just make it, or need to set serious U.S. sales records each month for the last quarter of the calendar year for the unofficial 40,000 target to be hit.

But again, officially, there is no target since GM revised it from 60,000 globally estimated for 2012, and started saying it would match supply to demand.

But people will nonetheless be watching, measuring, and analyzing the Volt’s progress, and the company’s CEO was quoted mid-year, so we’re down to an unofficial race this year just like last, when 10,000 U.S. units was the goal that was narrowly missed.

Source: GM-Volt.com

EREV News From Around the World

US News: Love your new Volt or get your money back
Were you thinking about buying a Volt or another economical car in Chevrolet’s line-up but were not quite sure whether you’d have buyer’s remorse later?

Taking a strategy out of the playbook of retailers of less-high-priced consumer goods, beginning yesterday through Sept. 4, Chevrolet says it is offering a “Love it or return it” money back guaranty.



The deal actually applies to all 2012 or 2013 Chevrolets, but yesterday Chevrolet spokesperson Afaf Farah said it definitely includes the Volt. According to Farah, the offer is a repeat of a similar company wide program GM ran in 2009, and is being offered again in light of Chevrolet having a number of new and improved models, and the company wants to woo buyers back to the brand with a bold offer that shows it really has confidence in its lineup.

You can read the fine print here, but in short, if you buy an eligible vehicle, and hold onto it from at least 31 up to 60 days, drive fewer than 4,000 miles, and decide the vehicle is really not for you, then no worries.
Chevrolet will take the vehicle back for the full actual selling price plus the sales tax you paid – but you will forfeit registration fee, title fee, or municipal and other miscellaneous fees as applicable. The “Buyback Price” will be fully disclosed prior to taking delivery, and the intent is to avoid unwanted surprises – so, while there are terms and conditions, there will be no haggling, a restocking fee, or other penalties if you decide not to keep your 31-60-day-old Chevy.

Other caveats include this does not apply to leasing, but purchases only, and if you return it, it must be through the same participating dealer. Also the vehicle must not have incurred damage or non-warranted repairs in excess of $300, regardless of whether such damage has been repaired. And furthermore, it must not have been subject to any liens or other security interests other than a lien for the original financing used to purchase it.





OK, but it still sounds like a pretty liberal deal. And someone might ask, what happens if some person tries to game the system? In other words, could this deal become like a relatively minimal cost 31-60 day rental if someone was willing to put out the upfront costs and go through the trouble of buying the car?
The short answer is, yes. But Farah said the last time GM did this, it had around a 1-percent return rate while seeing an incremental increase in sales. So, not unlike an offer at a bookstore that lets you read the whole book then return it for money back, Chevrolet is taking the chance that most people won’t take the option out, and it will sell more vehicles.

What do you think? Is this a good offer? Is it good enough to make you buy that now-discounted Volt you were thinking about in light of 2013 models being just around the corner?

Full details and limitations can be found at chevyconfidence.com.

News from Oz: Better Place and Holden team up on charging
We more often hear of Better Place as offering EV battery switching stations for Renaults, but yesterday for the Volt in Australia, Holden announced Better Place would be its “preferred partner for renewable energy and faster charging.”

For those of you less familiar, the “long range Holden Volt” is the Australian re-badged version of the Chevy Volt. Holden says Better Place will enable effectively reduced emissions by making available a number of membership packages for Volt customers.

Central in this is a “Charging Spot” recharger unit and ability to purchase renewable energy or 100-percent government certified renewable energy certificates. Ordinarily plugging into 240-volt, 10-amp house current in Australia is said to require a bit less than six hours for a full recharge. With the Better Place unit pushing 15 amps from a dedicated line, time is said to be decreased to under four hours. While offered to consumers, Holden Energy and Environment Director, Richard Marshall noted the Better Place option is likely to be especially popular with fleets wanting to run their Volts predominantly on the initial battery charge.
For its part, Better Place said the partnership gives Volt motorists a complete recharging solution for their electric driving. “The partnership between Better Place and Holden means Volt drivers can choose an all-inclusive service that delivers complete peace of mind and makes driving an electric car easy, convenient and reliable,” said Better Place Head of Strategy and Marketing, Ben Keneally. “We look after everything a Volt driver needs – including installing personal charging spots at home or work, delivering shorter charging times, and providing ongoing management, maintenance, and 24-hour customer care.”

Better Place will also install a Volt Charge Spot at the limited number of Volt dealers for demonstration purposes when the 2013 Volt is released in a fully optioned single specification level at $59,990 Australian dollars ($61,118 USD) – plus dealer delivery, road registration and associated taxes – in the fourth quarter of this year. This morning Holden spokesperson Andrea Matthews said also that charger pricing is still pending. “Better Place have not yet announced pricing for the charger but it will vary as there will be a number of different membership packages available,” she said, answering also a question about projected numbers. “We won’t speculate on sales volume of any of our vehicle lines but our expectation is that this will be a niche model for us.” Matthews said also she appreciated your checking in to see what Holden is doing – so feel free to keep clicking the links …

“By the way, I also look after the Holden blog and we’ve seen some good traffic from your site in the past week,” she said, “so thanks!”

News from Europe: UK man trades Leaf for Volt over range anxiety
By Huw Evans

In the United Kingdom, Dan Green (not his real name), decided, after 18 months of ownership that his Nissan Leaf was too stressful and so opted to trade it in for the British version of the Chevy Volt, a Vauxhall Ampera.



Asked why, Green cited the fact that he was tired of running out of charge, which doubled journey times and significantly increased his stress levels since he often worried if he would make it to his destination.
Part of the reason for his decision stems from the fact that in Green’s eyes, development of an EV infrastructure simply hasn’t been rapid enough to support the sales of the cars themselves, which means that the prospect of running out of range was a major concern. “Although the tow truck drivers were friendly,” Green said, “being taken away on a flatbed truck turns a 1.5 hour journey into a 3.5 hour one. That’s okay if you’re on your own, but it doesn’t impress your passengers and doesn’t help the cause of electric cars.” He also said that on busy motorways (freeways) or during rush hour, driving slower to maximize range endurance was also particularly stressful, not only irritating other motorists but also proving quite dangerous, especially considering that many drivers travel at speeds of 75-85 mph on motorways in the UK. As a result, he decided enough was enough and went to a Vauxhall dealer to trade the Leaf in on a new Ampera. “They gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” he said, no doubt aided by the fact Green paid in cash, giving him extra bargaining power.

However, despite his new found motoring freedom, thanks to the Ampera’s onboard gasoline generator, Green does say there are some things he misses about the Leaf, namely its onboard CarWings telematics and satellite navigation system. “I really hate the satellite navigation in the Ampera,” he says, though “now I don’t have to worry about plugging in any more,” [getting 250 miles per gallon equivalent] is simply a much more enjoyable and relaxing experience.


Source: GM-Volt.com

Owner of Nissan Leaf Opts For Range and Trades in Leaf for Ampera

When the 2011 Nissan Leaf launched at the end of 2010, many environmentally-conscious drivers took the plunge and decided to buy one, hoping to leave gasoline behind for good. 
For the majority of Leaf owners, Leaf ownership does just that. For some others, however, a lack of reliable public charging, unreliable range prediction and a few flat batteries has left them feeling let down about NIssan’s first electric car. 
We’ve tracked down one such person, a retiree, who decided that life with a Leaf was too stressful.
His solution? Buy a Chevrolet Volt, or rather a Vauxhall Ampera, a European-market version of the Volt with a different front end. 
Flat battery
Dan Green from the U.K. (name changed at his request) didn’t take his decision to switch lightly.  Unlike Chicago-based Paul Berrkens, who replaced his Leaf with a Volt after just one month of ownership, Green drove his Leaf for 18 months before he decided to trade it in. 
His reason for doing so?  Range anxiety.

Nissan Leaf: Lost Battery Capacity

“The Leaf’s dashboard range indication is a joke,” he told us. “I’ve been brought home twice on the back of a flatbed truck and almost not made it home at least 10 other times.”
Green is keen to point out however, that it isn’t all Nissan’s fault. Even with a home charging unit, however, he struggled with range anxiety.
“The (U.K.) charging network has failed to keep up with the sale of electric cars,” he said. “Although the tow truck drivers were friendly, being taken away on a flatbed truck turns a 1.5 hour journey into a 3.5 hour one. That’s okay if you’re on your own, but it doesn’t impress your passengers and doesn’t help the cause of electric cars.”
Kid gloves
While he loved the level of technology in the Leaf, and its integrated Carwings telematics and satellite navigation system, Green said the Ampera's backup gasoline engine made driving much less stressful. 
“Both times I ran out of charge it became obvious that I wasn’t going to make it home, so I left the motorway and took quieter roads rather than break down on a busy motorway,” he told us. 
In busy periods, driving much slower than everyone else on the freeway in order to maximize range became frustrating too, Green explained. 
For Green, that amount of worrying about range meant that driving to see friends and family wasn’t as enjoyable as it should have been. 
Something had to change. 

2012 Chevrolet Volt

Trade-in
“I walked into the local dealer, and they gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Green said. 
Because he had paid cash when he purchased the Leaf back in 2011, Green had the fortunate advantage of not having to worry about finance payments or lease schemes.  That, he speculates, along with having cash-in hand for the new purchase, gave him an extra bargaining chip when he traded it in for an Ampera.
“A few days later, I got a call from my Nissan dealer, asking how I was getting on with the Leaf,” Green laughed. “I had to tell them I’d traded it in for a Vauxhall Ampera. They were nice enough, but shocked.”
Better?
We asked Green to list what he prefers about the Ampera, and what he misses about the Leaf.  
Green says the Leaf has the edge when it comes to price and in-car technology, citing its Carwings system and satellite navigation system among the things he misses.



Source: Green Car Reports

What Happens To That Old Volt or Ampera Battery?

The Chevrolet Volt and Opel/Vauxhall Ampera represent a new kind of powertrain for General Motors which the company has covered with an 8-year/100,000 mile warranty, but what happens to that expensive battery should it cause issues, or after its usable service life?
We’ve heard critical speculators say Volt owners will be in for a new battery shortly after the 8 years, or 100,000 miles (160,000 km) – whichever comes first – thus wiping away the savings offered by potentially bypassing the gas pump due to its ability to operate as a medium-range electric vehicle.
In short, there’s no reason to suspect this worst-case scenario will be the case.

To begin with, the Volt/Ampera battery does not have a “die gene” imposing electrical rigor mortis on a car left in the hands of a hapless owner as soon as GM’s warranty liability period is over.
It is true the battery loses its charge holding capacity, but there’s reason to believe it’s over-engineered. It is thermally managed with liquid cooling and heating, and GM built in a “buffer” zone in which its battery management system never fully charges or discharges the pack. In fact, only 10 kilowatt-hours out of a total 16 are ever used as a means to preserving its longevity.
But according to GM’s Manager, Electric Vehicle and Hybrid Communications, Kevin Kelly, what GM has fully disclosed already is it does not quite know all the potential scenarios that could play out for aging Volt and Ampera batteries – but “we’re working diligently on it every day” he said of potential re-use scenarios and related questions.
By definition, GM considers the 16-kilowtt-hour Volt/Ampera battery to be at the end of its usable life cycle when it has around 70-percent charge-holding capacity. When exactly that threshold is reached could vary widely depending on climate, and how the vehicle is used – but what it also means is the battery is not useless after its “usable life.”

Post Retirement

If someone buys a Volt or Ampera and intends to run it till the proverbial wheels fall off, he or she will be faced eventually with a decision about the aging battery.
The greatest likelihood is someone will simply notice a progressive diminishing of its all-electric range. Newer Volt owners have reported range varying from around 25 miles in cold weather to just over 50 miles with gentle driving in perfect weather – batteries function best and “like” the same moderate weather humans do, and the Volt’s battery thermal management helps keep it closer to its ideal zone.
As one potential scenario, if someone normally gets, say, 38 miles electric range on an average day, and the battery became 75-percent worn out, the car might get only 28.5 miles electric range compared to when brand new. So no doubt, owners will see usable electric range drop over the years.
If they go well-beyond the warranty period – like 10-12 years or longer and well over 100,000 miles – the battery at some point will have probably degraded below its nominal “70-percent” usable life, but it still should have usable life – just not as much.
The good news is it won’t be an expensive-to-replace dead brick as some critics have implied. The not-as-good news is, the Volt/Ampera owner will benefit less from electric-only driving, which was a primary reason for buying the car.
The standard 8-year warranty averages to 12,500 miles driving per year. If the Volt/Ampera driver travels farther per year, naturally, the warranty will be exhausted sooner. When ever the end of “usable life” comes, again, it won’t be a definite end, but more a tapering off.

Future Unknown

Exactly what the most sensible decision will be for a future degraded battery, say, in 2020 is anyone’s guess – including GM’s – but that is why the company is researching and developing several possibilities now.
Kelly says the company has test Volts with well in excess of 200,000 miles still operating within spec which means the liquid-heated and cooled battery and related systems are engineered to at least go the distance in all climates.
But since this is a new kind of car in a nascent industry in which energy storage technology is developing – and battery prices are dropping on existing lithium-ion chemistries – Kelly says he cannot say what might be the best option at the end of the warranty period.
In as far away as eight years from now, it could be an upgraded original equipment retrofit, or the standard battery, which at present is the only recommended replacement.
How much would it cost?
“We don’t know that. We just don’t know that. Battery chemistries and battery technology is advancing at a rapid pace,” Kelly said. “We’re seeing the cost curve come down pretty significantly and we’re looking into other chemistries and other materials. We’re looking at ways to improve the value equation.”
If this kind of uncertainty alarms you, perhaps a Volt is not right for you, but that is not a conclusion GM would suggest, as it has a do-what-it-takes policy in place to help soften the potential edges of adapting to its new technology.

Opel Ampera.

Since the Volt’s launch, GM has offered white glove treatment for its early adopters better than Cadillac service. Consumer Reports rated the Volt as number one in owner satisfaction at 93 percent, currently placing it above all cars sold today.
During the recent publicity crisis in which the federal government was investigating the Volt’s battery, GM actually offered to buy back Volts from customers who were concerned for their safety; this move was considered above the call of duty, and Kelly said the company will continue to offer high levels of assurance all the way through the lifecycle of the Volt or Ampera in years to come.
That’s not saying GM is opening itself up to frivolous claims, but merely that it has policies and procedures in place to prevent Volt owners from coming out feeling like losers for having taken a chance on the car.
Should a battery need repair or replacement within warranty, by the way, Kelly said the company just contracted with Midtronics for tool that can “de-power” and service the Volt/Ampera battery.
The large T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack is comprised of LG Chem cells constructed in nine modules of varying capacities. Dealers authorized to work on the Volt/Ampera receive training on diagnosing its battery. In a warranty situation, dealers may replace modules or whole battery assemblies.
The policy is that should an entire battery be replaced, owners will get a new replacement battery. On the other hand if it is a repair scenario, the dealer is authorized to restore the battery to pro-rated performance levels on par with where the battery should have been at that point in its life. So, for example, if it is a four-year-old battery, a repair does not restore to new-spec charge holding capacity, but to a level on the anticipated wear curve for a normal four-year-old battery – exactly how much usable life is expected year after year of use is info that GM keeps confidential.
Unknown is whether aftermarketers would be in business to offer replacements.
Unknown is what value a used battery would have if an owner wanted to replace it, or how an owner would be credited or paid for a used battery that still has, say, 69-percent or less usable life in it. Kelly was unwilling to say what he thinks a used Volt/Ampera battery might be worth after so many years, but that it will have value is at least certain.
Of course all this becomes moot if someone leases the car, and simply turns it back in. Or, if longer-range, higher performance, electrified vehicles come down the pike as GM says they will, people may not even want to hold onto their old Volts.
So, as you might expect, also unknown is the used car market for first generation Volts a half decade or longer from now. Out of the gate, leasing companies have erred on the safe side, and projected lower values than might be expected for comparably priced gasoline cars.

Possibilties

While Volt/Ampera owners may opt in the future to replace their battery because its vehicle propulsion value is below acceptable, again, the used battery is not scrap, and GM is looking into ways to intelligently re-purpose the Volt/Ampera battery.

Research begun last year by GM predicts that secondary use of 33 Volt batteries will have enough capacity to power up to 50 homes for about four hours during a power outage.

One possible way is being worked on in collaboration with ABB Group. It and GM engineers are putting used Volt batteries back to work – with what capacity they have remaining – into energy storage devices for use by subdivisions, industrial parks, businesses or the like.
“GM’s battery leadership position doesn’t stop at the road – it extends throughout the life of the battery, including ways we can benefit society and the environment,” said Micky Bly, GM executive director – Global Electrical Systems, Electrification and Infotainment. “As we grow our battery systems expertise, we need to assure we’re optimizing the development of our battery systems with secondary use in mind from the start.
“Partnerships with organizations such as ABB provide real-world applications that prove what we’re doing is real, not fiction,” Bly said.
Kelly said later this year, GM and ABB will test a pilot project of re-purposed Volt batteries. This would involve reconfiguring the used modules, perhaps into squared shapes for mounting in a box sited at a facility, not merely re-using the entire Volt’s T-shaped pack which is shaped that way to fit the car.
Beyond this, Kelly said the company is looking at a number of different scenarios.

GM is even reusing scrap Chevrolet Volt battery covers as wood duck and screech owl nesting boxes. More than 150 have been installed in designated wildlife habitat areas surrounding GM facilities, as well as various locations across the U.S.

Like its customers, GM has not traveled this path before. The upside is the Volt is showing a major payback unlike conventional cars, so the belief by those who buy them is it will all pan out.
In the meantime, Kelly reiterated GM intends to stand by its owners all the way through.
“We want them to be happy,” he said, as GM continues to develop its technology – and wants repeat business.
Given the way GM has treated its Volt customers to date, we have seen no reason to suspect its stated position is anything but true.


Source: GM-Volt.com

Vauxhall Ampera offered through Zipcar car sharing scheme

Zipcar in the UK will incorporate the extended range electric Ampera into its fleet of self-service, pay-as-you-go vehicles for the next six months.
It’s the first time in the UK that a car sharing club has offered access to an Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV), and Zipcar members from today will be able to reserve the Ampera online or using their smart phones, just as they would any other of the 1,700 cars across the London.

To make this pilot possible—specifically the provision of dedicated charging points—we will be partnering with five London Boroughs: Camden, Croydon, Islington, Wandsworth and Westminster. For a number of years, we have worked closely with these Boroughs to develop the uptake of car sharing in London and their continued commitment to advancing the concept of car sharing is crucial for making London an even better place to live and work.

Mark Walker, General Manager of Zipcar UK

is the leading car sharing network with approximately 700,000 members and 9,000 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles.
In the UK, Zipcar operates in London, Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford. In London, there are more than 1,700 vehicles available for use.


Source: Green Car Congress

Mitsubishi companies launch smart grid demonstration system using EVs and used battery packs

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Mitsubishi Electric) have completed the development and begun the operation of M-tech Labo, a smart grid demonstration system consisting of a 20 kW photovoltaic system, 5 electrically-dischargeable electric vehicles (EVs) and 80 kWh of used rechargeable batteries collected from EVs.

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate load shifting by charging at night when demand is low, storing power produced from renewable sources in rechargeable batteries, and supplying such power back to the grid when factory facilities and offices face peak demand.

MC, MMC and Mitsubishi Electric also expect that utilizing EV batteries and used rechargeable batteries, instead of expensive, dedicated batteries, will lower costs while promoting the environmental-benefits of renewable energy and EVs.

Tokyo Institute of Technology is playing an advisory role for the project. This demonstration project is part of the KEIHANNA Eco-City Next-Generation Energy and Social Systems Demonstration Project, one of the four smart grid initiatives authorized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Project targets for this fiscal year include:

Reduction of electricity fluctuation at the Administration Building of MMC’s Nagoya Plant by utilizing electricity from M-tech Labo at a maximum power of 50 kW (Target: 33% reduction of the 180 kW fluctuation range).

Validation of EIS (Electric vehicle Integration System) which aggregates data and information of available dischargeable capacity and hours of each EV while still allowing the EV to be used as a mean of transportation.

The three companies will collaborate in project implementation and application of knowledge obtained. The primary roles of each company are:

MC: Study of electricity-related business utilizing of rechargeable EV batteries and used rechargeable batteries.

MMC: Research on the effect of discharging and charging on EVs, and on the necessary information and data from EVs.

Mitsubishi Electric: Validation of a system that can effectively utilize rechargeable EV batteries and used rechargeable batteries.

Volt and Ampera selling relatively well

As the dust settles from the batterygate debacle that GM hopes to relegate to forgotten history, U.S. Volt sales jumped to 1,023 last month, and in Europe, they cannot get enough a good thing in the form of an imported from U.S. Ampera.

Volt sales in this year’s 29 days of February leaped above weak January numbers of 603 Volts that GM executives have said were low because of bad press, not to mention January is normally a slow month anyway.

This month, the E-REV outsold the Nissan Leaf – side note: why do we compare the Volt to this car? Because they are both two different approaches to electrification? What ever the case, since we’ve done it since they both launched, we’ll keep the tradition going and mention the Leaf sold only 478 units, a decline from 676 sold in January, and 954 in December. Nissan has nonetheless said it hopes this year to double the 9,700 Leafs sold in 2011.

And speaking of goals, GM has abandoned its long-standing 2012 North American sales target of 45,000 units, and as it had begun hinting a while back, will match “supply to demand.”

UPDATE (3/2/12):

As the line above says, we knew GM would curtail supply, but more specifically, today GM said it is halting production of the Chevrolet Volt for five weeks as it works to sell down its existing inventory.

“We have more than enough to meet our demand,” said GM spokeswoman Michelle Malcho.

As part of the shut-down, GM will temporarily lay off 1,300 workers at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant.

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While we expect critics – including those who for some reason lurk around GM-Volt, and who are being watched for the attitude they project – may pounce on the above statement, GM has said it is still working on rebuilding its damaged image.

It bears repeating because it is true: The Volt’s reputation was damaged following fictional reports of Volt batteries “exploding” and other extravagant tales. I’m still asked by people about the alleged big fire risk. The misinformation was willfully spread, it didn’t happen in a day, and its reversal won’t either.

But over in Europe, news is a bit brighter for the Volt’s cousin. They are only doling out perhaps one-quarter the U.S. number of E-Revs, and if GM will extend its policy of matching supply with demand, it should probably think about increasing the Euro allocation.

Ampera

There had been reports not many weeks ago that General Motors was holding back European deliveries of the Opel Ampera until issues in North America surrounding its sister vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, were resolved.

Since the reports of a federal investigation into battery safety were properly settled, last week Opel announced customer deliveries have begun of the extended-range electric vehicle.

The company says it is approaching 6,000 European orders, is well on the way toward its (conservative first-year) sales goals, and is taking sales away from premium brands.

“Our first deliveries are running smoothly and I’m pleased to confirm that our sales target of 10,000 units for 2012 is on track,” said Enno Fuchs, Opel’s e-mobility launch director. “We’re very happy that our European customers can now drive our revolutionary Ampera.”

Opel is apparently also happy that sales of the Ampera represent a “premium brand conquest” as clients transfer loyalties to the American-produced, environmentally friendly vehicle.

“The majority of Ampera retail customers previously owned top premium brand cars and are making the switch to the Ampera and Opel because they want to be the first to use such cutting-edge technology,” Opel said.

A similar phenomenon occurred last year among high per-capita earning first adopters of the Volt in the U.S., but in Europe, Opel notes the majority of Ampera clients have been fleet or business customers.

Last August, Opel chief Nick Reilly said he was already hoping to be allowed to import more than only 10,000 units in 2012, and that around 75 percent of Ampera pre-order customers were fleet buyers. This latter assertion Opel reiterated this month, mentioning some of its top fleet accounts.

“These include big names such as Lease Plan, ALD and Europcar,” Opel said. “A number of big global brands have placed orders and further showcase their environmental commitment by having Amperas in their fleet.”

For now the vehicles are being imported from GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, although if success continues, GM is looking to produce Opel and similar Vauxhall-badged Amperas and Chevy Volts closer to their point of consumption.

Source: GM-Volt.com

Euro-Volt Get’s Selectable EV Mode; Not Planned for U.S.

Is this a case of the grass is always greener, or is GM cutting the U.S. market out of one of the Chevy Volt’s coolest tricks? Over in Europe, the Chevy Volt will get a selectable EV-mode button that will allow drivers to choose if they want to run the gas-engine, or drive in EV-only mode.

An EV Button for Europe…

The Truth About Cars reports that Euro-Market Volts its cousin the Opel Ampera will get a button that will allow the plug-in hybrids to switch between the gas generator, and running on battery power. This feature is a response to congestion charges in cities like London, where cars running on battery power don’t have to pay the congestion charge.

And if you ask me, it sounds like a really nifty feature. If I know I am going to get on the highway for 90 miles, and then drive through the city at the end of my trip, wouldn’t it be better to save my battery for the city driving? I certainly think so, but either by executive decision or government legislation, it looks like such a button won’t be making it stateside.

…But Not The U.S.

TTAC speculates that one reason this feature didn’t make it to the U.S. is because the EPA demands that cars must run in their most efficient mode at all times. But the Fisker Karma let’s you switch between EV and gas-engine mode. It could also be because that such a button would lower the EPA ratings of the Volt.

Either way, there are no plans for adding this feature to the American-market Volt. Which is a shame, because if there is anything Americans like, it is technology. Maybe in a future model, this option will be included. But for now it appears to be another case of an American company denying its home country some cool features and technology for some arcane reason or another. They’re all guilty of it, though hopefully further globalization will start to fill in some of those gaps.

So you tell me…is this a feature you’d like to see on the Volt and other plug-in hybrids? Or does it not matter either way?

Source: Gas2.0

Fully Charged drives the Vauxhall Ampera - VIDEO

Here is a test drive in the Vauxhall Ampera from Fully Charged: