Volt: Know the Facts

January 25, 2012 10:40 AM PT

You may be aware the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) closed its safety investigation of the Volt this past Friday.  Their perspective of the investigation parallels that of ours: the Volt and electric vehicles are safe, the enhancements are appropriate and the testing/investigation was procedurally extraordinary given that it is a new technology.  Today our CEO, Dan Akerson, testified in front of a Congressional hearing titled, “Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA Know and When Did They Know It?”

The Volt and electric vehicle technology were under heavy scrutiny during this highly political hearing.  The support of our owners, dealers and other partners in electrification to engage in online discussions in the days following the testimony will be key in helping customers, stakeholders and others in your communities – virtual or real – discern between fact and fiction.  Below are key facts about the Volt that may be helpful clarifying fact from fiction:

CHEVROLET VOLT FACTS

The Chevrolet Volt was first shown as a General Motors concept electric vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in January 2007 – more than two years before the swearing-in of President Obama and the company’s filing for bankruptcy reorganization that resulted in partial government ownership.

The Volt is an electric vehicle with extended-range capability, designed to drive 35 miles on electricity without using gasoline or producing tailpipe emissions. When the Volt’s lithium-ion battery is depleted of energy, a gas-powered engine-generator seamlessly operates to extend the total driving range to about 375 miles before refueling or stopping to recharge the battery.

Following the Volt’s debut in 2007, six plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles were announced by others later that year, followed by 19 introductions in 2008 and five more in 2009. There are now 26 brands planning to have 44 electric vehicles on the road within the next three years.

Volt production began at  the Detroit-Hamtramck plant in August 2009. Since then, GM has invested $700 million in eight Michigan facilities, creating hundreds of jobs for Volt-related production, including $336 million in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which will benefit from battery research conducted at the battery lab in Warren; receive batteries from Brownstown; use tooling from Grand Blanc; take delivery of camshafts and connecting rods from Bay City; and dies, stampings and the Volt’s 1.4L engine-generator from three plants in Flint.

Volt subsidies have been wildly overstated.  In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy selected 45 companies, universities and organizations, including GM, in 28 states for more than $2 billion in awards for electric drive and battery manufacturing and transportation electrification. Nearly half of that total is to jumpstart U.S. battery research and production and is designated for cell, battery and materials manufacturing facilities in Michigan to benefit overall U.S. auto production.

The Volt has received many awards including  2011 North American Car of the Year (voted by 50 automotive journalists in the United States and Canada); 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year and Automobile Magazine’s 2011 Automobile of the Year.

GM announced Jan. 5 enhancements to the vehicle structure and battery coolant system in the Volt that would further protect the battery from the possibility of an electrical fire occurring days or weeks after a severe crash. The enhancements were a response to a NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation to examine post-severe crash battery performance.

December 2011 was the Volt’s best sales month since it went on sale in late 2010.  Approximately 8,000 Volts have been sold to date in the United States, nearly half of which were sold in the final three months of the year. As Fox News itself reported earlier this month, Volt sales are comparable to another first-generation technology – the Toyota Prius – which  sold 5,000 units in its first partial year of production and 15,000 in its full second year.