Development Increases For Chevy Volt Electric Cars

By: Andy Hodges
Staff Writer
Published: Jun 23, 2009

Articles - Chevy Volt Price Information

General Motors Corp opened a new search facility to help expedite the development of its Chevy Volt electric car. The facility is known as the Global Battery Systems Lab that is designed to accelerate advanced battery technology. The lab will also lead GM's network of existing battery systems, including lithium-ion, as well as new energy storage technologies.

Chevy Volt, which will release sometime in late 2010, will include ultra capacitors to power GM's extended-range electric vehicles, plug-in cars, hybrid and fuel cell automobiles. GM, currently in its third week of bankruptcy, is already showing signs as a new automaker in touch with the latest technologies. It will be interesting, how they approach the growing electric car market.

The Volt electric car could very well be one of the first Chevy extended-range vehicle that could offer 100 miles per gallon. However, the specifications and mileage haven't been confirmed. We probably won't know the official mileage until a couple of months before its release date.

The new Global Battery Systems Lab spans 33,000 square-feet, four times larger than GM's previous Tech Center lab, and will be used by a growing team of more than 1,000 engineers. These engineers will work on advanced batteries and develop new ways to power electricity for vehicles. The lab is equipped with 160 test channels, 42 thermal chambers, and has a maximum power capacity of 6 megawatts (enough to provide electricity to more than 1,400 homes).

The Chevy Volt price is still unknown, but GM estimates that a price of $39,000 would be the break even point. Just how the automaker plans to price its new electric cars is still a mystery. GM needs to make a profit to unload debt that was created over two decades.

Electric cars are becoming a booming market than ever before. Mostly, due to the unpredictable price of gas. Moreover, there are new auto competitors from China and Japan moving into Detroit to tighten the market.

If the Chevy Volt electric car will do everything that GM says it will do, then it will be very competitive. Technically, we are about a year away from seeing the first post-production model. I only hope that it will meet its high expectations that are building with its hype.