Next-Generation Chevy Volt Nationwide Availability To Be Delayed

Update: The limited 2016 Volt rollout has apparently been officially confirmed. GM spokesperson, Kevin Kelly, delivered the following official statement: “Chevrolet has a shortened model year for the 2016 Chevy Volt that will have a limited distribution network. The 2016 Volt will be sold in our strongest EREV markets. The 2017 Chevrolet Volt will begin production early this spring and will be available throughout the country.”

Word on the internet is that full production for the next-generation Chevy Volt (2016 Chevy Volt) may be delayed until February or March. A rumor about this began a few days ago when some Chevrolet dealers who are big supporters of the Volt program complained on Facebook that their cars were being delayed.

At first, the GM-Volt.com forum dismissed this as an unsubstantiated rumor, until the picture you see above made its way onto the internet. It shows an internal GM document called the Timeline, a way that Chevy uses to keep its dealers informed about when to expect new models. The acronym DSOP stands for “dealer standard operating procedure” and it clearly shows production of the 2016 Chevy Volt began on August 26, but only for cars destined for dealers in California and the other 10 states that adhere to the emissions standards prescribed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

Those other states are Connecticut, Massachussetts, Maryland , Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Look over on the right of the photo and you will see that production of cars intended for the other 39 states (and Canada?) is now scheduled for February and March of next year. The Timeline indicates those states will receive no 2016 cars at all. When they do get cars — in the Spring of 2016 — they will be designated as 2017 models. [Editor’s Note: I tried to get a 2016 Volt media loaner or late October when I will be in Florida presenting at the EV Transportation & Technology Summit, and despite a lot of work on the part of my contact, it turned out I couldn’t get one because Chevy wouldn’t have any in the Florida fleet by that time.]

Why is that? No one knows and Chevrolet is not saying. Representatives of Inside EVs and Hybrid Carshave reached out to GM for confirmation but have received no response. Unfortuanately, a lack of information always leads to speculation, some of it plausible and some of it ridiculous. Some people at the Volt forum have suggested there is a serious problem with the cars, but if that were true, Chevy would not be building any of them for any markets.

The more likely explanation is that Chevy is waiting for production of the all-new aluminum engine for the next-generation Volt to shift from Mexico, where the engine is built today, to the company’s engine plant in Flint, Michigan. Chevy announced that move some time ago. Perhaps it wants to be able to talk about how the car is mostly American made when it begins its advertising campaign to introduce the new car. That would make some sense.

Whatever the reason, a delay of a few months is not all that unusual in the car business. The Tesla Model X has been delayed for two years (and counting) and the new Toyota Prius was supposed to be here a year ago. Will there be any discernible difference between the early and the later Gen-2 Chevy Volts? No one knows at this point. We will keep you informed as more information becomes available.

The one thing this kerfuffle makes clear is that cameras are everywhere today and keeping company secrets is getting tougher and tougher. The dealers who started all this by posting on Facebook are probably surprised that anyone paid any attention to their posts, but they shouldn’t be. Using Facebook for anything is like sending an e-mail directly to every person on earth. Why more people don’t realize that is a great mystery.

Of course, maybe the dealers knew exactly what they were doing.

GM’s Flint engine plant undergoing renovations in anticipation of new Volt

The GM Flint Engine Operations plant is undergoing a $215 million renovation to build 3- and 4-cylinder Ecotec variants with displacements ranging from 1.0 to 1.5 liters and the 2016Volt’s (1.5) is one of these new efficient engines..

Plans at this plant where the present Volt genset is now being built are underway with walls going up, assembly machines due to come in later, and a lot of excitement at the union operation, according to MLive.

 

“I think just our team alone, everyone is really excited because we’re really involved,” said UAW Local 599 worker Kim Hubbard on Monday Jan. 12, the say the Volt was unveiled.

The union employees are working hand-in-glove with GM engineers to make this an efficient assembly – of the assembly plant.

Hubbard and others are able to give real-time input on issues as they may occur in the assembly plant’s construction.

 

“A lot of times in the past you have issues that pop up in the assembly plant and it’s difficult to make changes there,” said GM Spokesman Tom Wickham to MLive. “We’re trying to pull all that further upstream.”

Hubbard mentioned workers first spent time in a factory in Japan and at Toluca Mexico where the Volt’s engine will first be assembled before Flint comes on line third or fourth quarter this year.

According to the operations launch manager for GM, Jim Stack, the transition for this factory has been unique.

 

Without stopping production, work is continuing on current projects including the present generation Volt.

“We’ve had to rearrange the plant. It’s been like a board game, you’ve got to find open spaces,” Stack said to MLIve. “That’s the one big challenge for us.”

This also helped the core team, he said, about new equipment coming in.

 

“For this plant, it’s a brand new assembly system,” Stack said.

Source: GM-Volt.com

2016 Chevy Volt Drivetrain Improvements Detailed

Engineers working on the 2016 Chevy Volt have used data collected from customers to design a follow-up to the best-selling plug-in car in America, and GM has detailed the first of those drivetrain improvements.

Among the improvements is a lighter battery with more storage capacity, the result of a joint effort between supplier LG Chem and GM, which share a once-controversial battery factory. GM claims efficiency improvements shaved 30 pounds off the weight of the battery pack, while increasing storage capacity by about 20%. While the company isn’t talking range estimates yet, 20% more battery capacity should translate to at least 20% more range, which would give the Volt over 40 miles of electric driving per charge. GM quotes the fact that about 15% of current Volt drivers regularly achieve more than 40 miles of electric range as well, perhaps as a wink-wink/nudge-nudge towards what to expect.

Also on tap for the 2016 Chevy Volt is a new two-motor drive unit that is 100 pounds lighter than the current unit, and as much as 12% more efficient. The system can also use both motors to propel the vehicle on electricity alone, improving acceleration under battery power by 20%. The Volt currently takes about 8.7 seconds to go from 0 to 60 MPH, and if GM gets it under 8 seconds, that’d be a mighty improvement in terms of driving enjoyment.

Also new for 2016 is a 1.5 liter engine, which adds more power yet supposedly sips less fuel, which could also boost the Volt’s fuel economy above 40 MPG (it currently sits at 37 combined). The new engine will eventually be built at GM’s Flint, Michigan engine plant, helping bring the Volt’s domestic content up above 70%, making it one of the most Murican cars you can buy.

GM also mentioned how they collected driving information from 300 volunteer Volt owners to decide where to make improvements to their plug-in hybrid. The data showed that more than 80% of the miles driven were on electricity only, and other surveys have shown that buyers would like more range, more room, and a lower cost. I imagine those three factors will play big with the 2016 Volt, as will the fact that owners have covered more than a billion miles, most of those on electricity alone.

For now that’s all the details GM is willing to divulge. As we get closer to the Detroit Auto Show debut, more features and improvements regarding the 2016 Volt are sure to leak out. What’s your wishlist for the new Volt?