DETROIT, Michigan -- General Motors says it will guarantee Chevrolet Volt batteries for 8 years and 100,000 miles, a move that could go a long way toward bolstering consumer confidence in the range-extended EV.
Yeah, yeah, that's all well and good. But we got to see the range-extended EVs in red. Looks pretty hot, doesn't it?
We were at Milford Proving Ground on Wednesday with the winners of the Wired Volt Challenge when the engineers rolled up in a pair of crystal red metallic Volts. Much oohing and aahing ensued and a GM flak casually remarked, "This is the first time anyone's seen that color." We did a quick Google search and didn't find any pics, so here you are.
Now about that warranty...
GM says it will cover the 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery in the Chevrolet Volt for 8 years / 100,000 miles and transfer the warranty to the next guy if you sell your Volt. The guarantee covers each of the 161 battery components, the thermal management system, the charging system and the electric drivetrain.
The warranty is significant because it's better than the 5 year / 100K mile guarantee GM offers on its conventional drivetrains, suggesting the General is supremely confident in the packs. It could set a precedent for other EV makers, particularly Nissan, which tells us it will be announcing its warranty for the Nissan Leaf soon.
During the past three years, GM's engineers have racked up more than 1 million miles and 4 million hours of validation testing of Volt packs at its lab in Warren, Michigan. The lab features 160 test channels and 42 thermal chambers that subject batteries to real-world driving conditions and temperarture variations. It also has 32 battery cyclers, “treadmills” used to deplete and charge the packs repeatedly.
The engineers have checked packs for shorts, corrosion and crash impact as they've flooded, crushed and penetrated them. They've subjected them to temperatures ranging from 90 below zero to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. And they've shaken them nine ways from Sunday. Then they've done pretty much the same to Volt prototypes once the packs were in the cars and the cars were on the road.
“The Chevrolet Volt’s batteries have exceeded our performance targets and are ready to hit the road,” said Micky Bly, executive director of global electrical systems.
The Volt is slated to roll into showrooms in Austin, Texas; California; and Washington D.C. by the end of the year. They'll arrive in New York City and the tri-state area, the rest of Texas and Michigan by March. The rest of the country will see them through 2011.
General Motors plans to build 10,000 Volts next year and 30,000 in 2012. Still no word on price -- GM plans to announce that within a few weeks -- but keep hearing it'll be something less than $40,000 before the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
Photo: Jon Snyder / Wired.com
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