GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

In an effort to gain access to US government green loans, Nissan has intentions to build both an EV assembly plant and a lithium-ion battery production facility in the United States, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei.

The company will invest between $500 million and $1 billion in the operation.

Nissan presently has a plant in Smyrna Tennessee.  It is that facility which would be converted to both produce EVs and lithium-ion batteries.  The battery production facility would be a joint venture with NEC.

Nissan expects to be able to produce 50,000 to 100,000 electric vehicles per year there by 2012, with the first one being a small passenger car.

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Source (Automotive News)

When GM entered into bankruptcy protection on June 1st there was uncertainty about how long the process would take. On paper its simple; move all the best performing assets into a new GM in a so-called 363 sale. Bad performing assets would then be gradually liquidated in court. Immediately prior to entering court, the majority of GM’s creditors agreed to swap their outstanding debt for equity stakes in the new company paving the way for a swift process.

The government’s Auto Task Force indicated they believed the process would take from 60 to 90 days.

New reports from persons familiar with the proceedings are suggesting that it could even be quicker than that.

According to the Wall Street Journal executives and advisers are hoping the company can exit court by mid-July, beating initial expectations as so far the court process has been smooth and uneventful.

On Thursday GM will seek access to the $33 billion in government funding it has been offered to launch the new company. Then, the automakers attorneys will return to court on June 30th to ask the judge to approve the final 363 sale. If objections are minimal and the judge can manage them it is possible it will all be over by mid-July.

Although the majority of bondholders have already agreed to the concessions they were offered, a minority are gathering to try and fight the sale in court. This includes a group of 10 state attorney generals, retired UAW workers, and a faction of small bondholders called “Unofficial Committee of Family & Dissident GM Bondholders” who all filed their objections in court on Friday, which was the deadline to do so.

These small groups citing lack of fairness, face an uphill battle and are unlikely to derail the plans for a New GM whose writing it appears is already on the wall.

Source (Wall Street Journal), (Detroit News)

The value proposition of the Chevy Volt could change further. People tend to be fixated on its sticker price, but the complex nature of the vehicle and its interaction with the national economy, government, and natural resources really have created a moving target for the Volt’s price.

GM will not confirm pricing until May 2010 primarily because of the changing landscape of these facts, but most estimates place it around 40-ish or so.

That value became lower by $7500 when the tax credit for plugin-cars was legislated, which allows the first 250,000 buyers of the Chevy Volt (in the US) to receive a $7500 direct credit, thereby putting the effective price tag close to $30,000.

On Thursday the Congress passed a $1 billion “Cash for Clunkers” bill. This legislation provides up to $4500 in vouchers to anyone who trades in their old inefficient car for a new fuel efficient vehicle.

The requirements are that the old car get less than 18 mpg, and the new one more than 22 mpg. A difference of 4 mpg is worth $3500, if the difference in more than 10 mpg than its worth $4500. For trucks the new one needs at least 18 mpg and be 2 mpg greater than the old one for $3500, if its 4 mpg the voucher is worth $4500.

To see if you vehicle qualifies check here:  FuelEconomy.gov

The plan will take effect 30 days after Obama signs it into law and could stimulate up to 250,000 vehicle sales.

If this voucher were applied to the Volt it could cost you $12,000 less than sticker if you have an old gas guzzler to trade in for it. Once catch though. The program expires in November, a year too soon for the Volt.

Don’t give up hope though. Some members of Congress are already trying to get the bill extended for another year, and that would cover the Volt launch.

Or better yet, maybe we should propose a new program called “Cash for Gassers” which would give people a cash voucher if they traded in their gas car for one that runs on electricity. The bigger the battery, the bigger the voucher.

Also, the possiblity of state tax credits or removal of states sales tax has the potential to lower initial Volt costs as well. As an example, I discussed with my assemblywoman’s adviser the creation of such a bill here in New York. The adviser said there would be a high likelihood they would draft it and that the assemblywoman would bring it to the NY State assembly in January 2010. You could consider doing the same in your state (or country).

Jon Lauckner is GM’s VP of global program management. I recently had the chance to ask him some questions about the Volt’s development.

The initial Volts will use LG cells, but could GM use cells from any company in future cars?
Sure in theory that’s what we could do. Right now we’re really focused on start of production, end of next year is coming fast. And so we’re very focused on making sure we have the LG cell completely evaluated, tested, we understand it thoroughly.

People say that now that we’ve made this announcement with LG is there opportunities for other companies, and we don’t think this first installment of capacity for the initial production of the Volt is the end of the story for electrically-driven vehicles.

We think that lithium ion technology is going to be the technology not only for the Volt, but that its going to find itself in the hybrid vehicles as well. Lithium ion as a chemistry is going to move up in volume very dramatically over the next few years. By the way that not an opinion that’s only shared by us. If you go around to all the OEMs you’ll see that everybody is talking about lithium ion whether their talking about Volt-like vehicles, pure electrics, or even hybrids.

Are you surprised how many car companies now involved in electric car programs and do you think GM had a lot to do with starting all this?
I think its fair to say that we led the discussion on this particular topic, that’s for sure. It started 2 years ago at the 2007 Detroit Auto show where we unveiled the Volt and the initial reaction was to question whether we were sincere or whether it was some sort of PR stunt.

I think in the months and years since that point and time people have figured out that we’re very serious about this thing. Now that they’ve looked into this concept much more deeply you see all manner of manufacturers who are getting behind either the Volt concept in its entirety or certainly the idea of plug-ins generally. You see movement on the side of battery companies too. When we first introduced the Volt we said we had to go find the companies that had the capability to supply the battery pack that the Volt would need. Today you have announcements almost every month from a new company that wants to get into this space. Its been very interesting to see how this whole thing has evolved over the past couple of years.

Is there anything more at this point that could derail the Volt launch?
So far so good. All of us who have grown up in a technical community are understandably cautious about making big pronouncements when you are only part of the way there, because its always possible for something to pop up that wasn’t foreseen and so we’re naturally very cautious.

At the same time we need to be careful that our training by nature to be cautious isn’t somehow misinterpreted that we’re not optimistic and extremely pleased, because we are, more so that we’ve ever been. And were very pleased that were on time on target and under budget. You can’t ask for more than that when your running a program the size of the Volt and with the amount of technology that we’re designing developing and implementing largely on the fly.

When GM went into bankruptcy on June 1st, it carried with it a risk that it might not rapidly emerge. It was hoped from the start that the quick-rinse or 363 sale bankruptcy could be completed within 60 to 90 days. Continuing in court for months or years would be an agonizing and likely devastating process for the automaker.

Chrysler was put through a similar process beginning a month earlier and was successfully able to merge with Fiat and leave bankruptcy after a mere 42 days.

GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson told reporters at a conference that presently he expects GM will successfully complete it’s bankruptcy process “according to plan.”

“We said 60 to 90 days, but it could be outside that,” Henderson cautions. “I’m not making another prognostication at this point.”

So far the risks of bankruptcy on sales haven’t materialized. In fact, he noted June sales were actually up compared to May, and have been increasing each month since March. Henderson attributes this in part to the fact that the federal government has backstopped vehicle warranties.

Henderson also said he expects oil prices to reach the $100 to $130 barrel range within the next several years and stay high. “We have to have a view,” he said. “It’s important because volatility is going to be permanent, and the consumer actually has changed how they look at energy.”

“We have to make vehicles that are beautiful, light, safe and meet all the requirements of society and are increasingly fuel efficient,” he said.

GM has plans to offer 14 hybrid vehicles by 2012 including the use of second generation lithium-ion BAS systems, 2-mode and plug-in 2 mode systems, and up to 3 Voltec models.

Source (Detroit News)

Months prior to GM going into bankruptcy proceedings, the company had stated its intentions to sell Saturn, Saab, and Hummer while ending the Pontiac brand.

Since June 1st the sell off has been happening fast and furious.  First we heard that Tengzhong of China will buy Hummer, then it was reported that Penske Automotive plans to buy Saturn, and now it has been announced Swedish supercarmaker Koenigsegg plans to buy Saab.

The Saab deal will be funded in part by $600 million in capital from the European Investment Bank and guaranteed by the Swedish government. GM has stated in a press release that it will “continue to provide Saab with architecture and powertrain technology during a defined time period.”

Koenigsegg is known for producing low-volume million-dollar ridiculously fast supercars, in fact their staff of 45 only built 18 cars last year.  A new report indicates that Koenigsegg is actually planning to use the Saab production facilities to build among other things electric cars.  In particular, the company had previously unveiled a 512 hp solar-electric 4 seat supercar concept called the Quant at the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year.

This vehicle uses two large rear-wheel electric motors and incorporates solar panels into the hood and roof which won’t generate significant energy except to help run on-board peripherals.  The same company making the panels however, NLV of Sweden, has also developed a new type of battery for the car called “Flow Accumulator Energy Storage.”  This device has an energy density of over 170 wh/kg, can store up to 300 miles of range and be recharged in 15 to 20 minutes.

Koenigsegg stated at the time of the reveal that it hoped to be able to produce the car in a few years.

It is now being reported that the company’s new access to Saab hardware, resources, facilities, and technology will enable it to actually bring this car into production.

This news is on the heels of Tengzhong China indicating it intends to make fuel efficienct new green Hummer models and Penske’s plans to sell electric Saturns.

So it seems the discarded parts of the old GM may very well blossom into advanced technology electric car companies of their own rights.

Who would have thought?

Source (Edmunds) and (Autoblog)