Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | General Motors held a gala celebration at several locations around the world yesterday to commemorate its 100th anniversary, and it capped events by introducing the production version of its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV). |
Implications | Despite looking substantially different from the concept, the vehicle is still attractive and, more importantly, reportedly delivers upon GM's promises of 40 miles of pure electric propulsion before the on-board generator kicks in to provide power to the motor. |
Outlook | The Volt is a very different kind of vehicle that is set to alter the automotive landscape for both automakers and consumers, but it is still two full years away from hitting the roads, and that is a long time to wait while competitors continue to sell hundreds of thousands of hybrid-electric vehicles. |
General Motors (GM) officially celebrated its 100th birthday yesterday, commemorating the event with an enormous gala at its global headquarters in downtown Detroit's Renaissance Center Wintergarden. In addition to displaying a dozen concept vehicles from its recent history, the company conducted an hour-long global tour of its various facilities, profiling several engineers and showing footage from its far-flung regions, all offering an enthusiastic "happy birthday" to the company. Live broadcasts from the company's Rüsselsheim (Germany) European headquarters and a gala celebration atop Shanghai's (China) recently completed World Financial Centre were piped into the glass atrium of the Renaissance Center, where a crowd of assembled media and guests watched the presentation before Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rick Wagoner introduced the star of the show: the production version of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.
The Volt has been officially released in its production form, according to the company, having been completely redesigned from the concept car shown at the 2007 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. Aerodynamic requirements have forced GM Design to pen a totally new exterior, as the concept car's bold slab-sided flanks turned up a coefficient of drag in the wind tunnel of 0.41, equal to the average Chevrolet Silverado pick-up, and totally unacceptable for a vehicle that must have top-notch aerodynamics. Little was said about the Volt's mechanics, but company spokespeople did let some details loose. Like the concept car, the production-ready Volt is a pure electric vehicle with a range-extending on-board gasoline (petrol) engine. It has a confirmed electric-only range of 40 miles of mixed highway and city driving, varying slightly based on driving patterns and usage, but not so much on vehicle weight as additional passengers and mass equal additional regenerative braking mass, allowing the vehicle to put energy back into the batteries. The motor is a 150-hp electric motor, pumping out 273 lb/ft of torque at zero RPM. Its top speed will be limited to 100 mph, and 0-60 mph should be under 9 seconds, according to GM's top engineer on the Volt programme, Frank Weber.
Recharging the 220 lithium-ion battery cells takes about eight hours using a U.S.-standard 120V outlet, but that time drops to three hours when a high-voltage 240V outlet is used. At current electrical utility rates, the cost of charging a completely depleted battery is about US$0.80. The battery itself has a capacity of 16 kWh, but will never see more than 50% depletion thanks to on-board battery management software that keeps the batteries cycling properly, ensuring a 10-year, 150,000-mile lifespan. Someone who drives 15,000 miles annually in a 30-mpg car is expected to save nearly US$1,500 in fuel costs with the Volt; for drivers who never venture more than 40 miles from their home and charge every night, the vehicle could theoretically never use a single drop of gasoline. Fuel mileage details for the Volt were not available, as the U.S. regulatory bodies have not yet decided upon a cycle for vehicles such as this. However, Weber did state that in the European cycle the Volt would be rated at less than 40 g/km of carbon dioxide (CO2) output.
The interior of the vehicle is equally avant-garde as the technological underpinnings. The Volt will be built on a version of the Chevrolet Cruze platform, GM's next-generation global C-segment compact platform, but will only have seating for four because of the space limitations of the T-shaped batteries intruding into the cockpit. Traditional gauges are replaced by a 7-inch LCD behind the steering wheel, which can be configured with two different themes, several different colours, and multiple layers of deliverable information. Another touch-sensitive 7-inch LCD sits atop the centre stack to deliver climate, navigation, audio system, and other information. The centre console itself will be available in either white or black metallic finish, and features "capacitive touch controls" instead of buttons for the vehicle's systems, similar to a first-generation Apple iPod music player. Many interior accent colours will be offered, including body-colour inserts, with five different graphics to choose from for the door inserts.
Outlook and Implications
The production model of the Volt may differ significantly from the concept version that appeared in varying forms of media and advertisements, but the finished product definitely looks to be a winner. Simply put, it marks nothing less than a reinvention of the automobile that other companies are going to have to work very hard to match. There has been much scepticism since the Volt concept's debut, but the fact that the performance numbers of the final model pretty much match initial projections is definitely promising; several GM engineers stated that testing is proving their projections, and that no significant hurdles remain to GM’s goal of delivering these vehicles to showrooms by the end of 2010. When the Volt does arrive, it is likely that it will be welcomed by a very interested public. One Web site run by an enthusiast with GM's blessing has stated that there is a waiting list of over 40,000 people interested in acquiring a Volt. Of course, this is before any pricing details are known—projections have put the cost of the car at nearly US$40,000 or more, but GM officials have steadfastly refused to discuss the issue. Initial samples may be sold at a loss simply to get the technology into the hands of the public; given that GM is using the Delta-II platform to create the Volt, more versions of it are certain to follow. GM executives specifically stated that the platform was selected to provide the company with the ability to create other "extended-range electric vehicles" (E-REVs) off the common architecture, so the Volt is likely to be simply the first model in what may be a whole line-up of similarly powered vehicles. The next vehicle after the Volt could conceivably be a production version of the Opel Flextreme concept, a type of crossover utility vehicle (CUV) based on a common powertrain. Frank Weber also stated that the technology is scalable; the installation of a bigger, more powerful system into a mid-sized car is a strong possibility as well.
Equally interesting will be the effect that the Volt and other plug-in electric vehicles of all types has on the automotive landscape. Questions such as "how will urban, street-parking consumers charge their cars?" have seen GM begin to team up with the Electric Propulsion Research Institute (EPRI) and over 40 North American utility companies to come up with solutions for getting power to the vehicles. Smart electrical power management panels installed in homes and businesses and public charging stations are likely to start appearing in the next two to five years, as more and more people express an interest in conservation in the United States, or face regulations that require such devices be installed in order to better manage utilities' power distribution. Some municipalities throughout the American south-west and Canada already require the installation of such home power management panels; according to EPRI's Mark Duvall, more will require them very soon.
One of the biggest strengths of the Volt, however, and the thing that may truly help differentiate it from its competitors such as the Toyota Prius, is its style. The vehicle has a somewhat similar profile to hybrid offerings from Toyota (and soon, Honda), but it differs definitively in its exterior detailing and significantly in its interior options. GM Design appears to be treating the Volt as if it is a highly customisable sports car and not a commodity-like appliance; whereas GM's EV-1 electric car from the 1990s was a highly niche product with limited mass appeal, the company is treating the Volt like a mainstream model, with far more marketing support and design considerations centred around the typical consumer than the EV-1 ever enjoyed. Consumers can choose from a basic automotive interior theme to something that looks positively unique, not only in its class but in the market as a whole, save for the Mini Cooper or Fiat 500 with their myriad customisable options. The Volt's controls are like nothing else on the market currently, but operation of the vehicle will not differ significantly from that of a normal vehicle. GM has been using style as a differentiator for all of its newest designs, from the mainstream Chevrolet Malibu to the recently unveiled (and boldly stunning) Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, and the Volt appears to be no exception.
There are really only two problems with the Volt. First, its cost is uncertain, and may climb fairly high, although this will be mitigated somewhat by tax incentives at the federal and state level, depending on locale. However, with people currently paying upwards of US$30,000 for a Prius (and with a six-month waiting list), even if GM were to price the Volt at US$40,000 it would likely find plenty of takers during its first two years of production. Further advancements and developments in battery technology would be taken advantage of by GM not through extending the Volt's range, but by making the battery pack smaller and less expensive, according to Weber. Thus, the second- and third-generation Volt will probably be less expensive than the first-generation models. But the bigger problem with the Volt is the two-year delay before its arrival. The vehicle is slated to be built at Detroit's Hamtramck assembly plant in the second half of 2010, with production vehicles arriving in showrooms for consumer purchase in November that year. That is nearly two full years before production starts on the vehicle, a long time for GM to maintain interest in the vehicle and fight off competitors' own announcements of new-technology vehicles.