GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

Electric car enthusiasts often laud automakers for making bold production volume forecasts for electric cars. After all, the more EVs there are the less oil the world will consume.

Even though forecasts vary, all of them agree electric car adoption will grow steadily in the coming decades eventually supplanting the combustion engine.

We often hear about concerns regarding lithium supply, as an essential element of electric car batteries, though most experts believe there is enough lithium on the earth to build at least 2 billion electric cars. And this isn’t including the lithium dissolved in sea-water, which could in theory at least be mined if necessary.

Little discussed, however, is the critical need for rare earth materials, which as its name implies is rare.

Demand for these elements, which occupy in 15 positions on the periodic table, is expect to exceed 40,000 tons annually within a few years. Chief among them is neodymium which is an essential component of electric motors and generators, providing its magnetism. Those motors also require the rare earths terbium and dysprosium which stabilize neodymium’s magnetic properties at high temperature. Another rare earth element, lanthanum, is required in the batteries.

The Toyota Prius, for example, with its relatively small motors and battery compared to all-electrics, uses 2.2 pounds of neodymium and 22 to 33 pounds of lanthanum per car. The Prius, says metals and commodity expert Jack Lifton, is “the biggest user of rare earths of any object in the world.”

“Rare earth availability is a serious problem as the EV market grows, though I’m not seeing much consternation about it yet,” said Mick Crane, the EV and hybrid director of Continental Automotive. “We could be trading dependence on one commodity, foreign oil, for another, rare earth metals.”

China is the world’s largest producer of rare earth materials, and since its own hybrid and electric car production capacity is increasing, will soon be the largest consumer. The country is already restricting exports.  China is believed to have 95% of the earths’ supply of these element.  The US imported 91% of its rare earth material from China between 2002 and 2008.

The looming shortage has Toyota scrambling for more sources including interest in locations in Canada and Vietnam. A promising rare earth location exists in California, which is slated to reopen in 2012.

Another significant future source is, of all places, Afghanistan which is among the world poorest countries. Afghanistan has recently been determined and reported to contain up to a trillion dollars in mineral resources which includes lithium as well.  This report led to an internal Pentagon memo stating Afghanistan could turn out to be “the Saudi Arabia of lithium.”

“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said of Afghanistan in an interview. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”

Sources and further reading:  (Reuters)  (BNET)  (NY Times)

It is no secret that the Mitsubishi i-MiEV has had a special place in my heart. Five years ago it re-introduced me to the notion that someday I could actually own my own electric car; a thought that had died after seeing the death of GM’s EV1, and Toyota’s RAV4 EV earlier in the decade.

Since then however, GM and Nissan have taken back the spotlight from this little Japanese jellybean, by bringing larger/faster and quite frankly, more practical examples of what a electric car should be, leaving Mitsu only two options. Build something better, or build it cheaper.

As the original mass produced electric car, and with no competition, the i-MiEV went on sale in Japan at a fairly pricey ¥4.6M (before incentives), that was until Nissan undercut that price with the LEAF this past April, forcing Mitsu to bring their price down to ¥3.97M, which translates to about $31,500 USD after government incentives (¥2.85M)

Since that time, Mitsubishi Motors North America decided that their diminutive, 80 mile/100 mile (EU combined mode/Japan 10-15 mode) kei car would be a good fit for the US and Canada, with a North American release this coming April.

As for the NA price, while at the New York auto show, Maurice Durand (MMNA spokesman) said, “…we’re targeting sub-$30,000 for the U.S. when it launches,” before federal tax credits, which would make the Mitsu the most affordable EV on the market for 2011.

Then this past Friday, Mitsubishi further stirred the pot regarding the pricing of their electric car, as they announced they aim to reduce the price of the i-MiEV by about 30% to around 2 million yen ($22,000) after rebates in Japan by 2012.

Mitsubishi said this significant drop will be a factor of two major changes in the production process. In April of 2012, a new battery plant will be coming online capable of producing 70,000 of the i-MiEV’s 16kWh packs per year, reducing costs by over 60%. As well, Mitsu will be working with suppliers of motors, rechargers, etc. to reduce component numbers, making volume production easier. At the same time, they also looking to increase the automated processes to about 10 percent, up from 2 percent currently.

The i-MiEV was first launched to fleet customers in Japan in July of 2009, and retail sales began April 1st, 2010. Future sales begin in Australia next month, and start in the UK in January of 2011.

After a long three and a half year watch period we can finally make the following statement “work on the Chevrolet Volt is nearly completed.”

From concept to production design, from battery pack prototype to assembly plant, from Cruze-mule to validation build, the ramp up to production appears to be almost over.

The testing, tweaking, refining and engineering that has been done with the pre-production fleet since last summer is finally completed.

The third quarter begins on July 1st, and with it will come assembly of the last phase of pre-production Chevrolet Volts eventually merging seamlessly into saleable builds that will start in the forth quarter and end in the driveways of America.

Micky Bly who is GM’s director of hybrids and electric vehicles told reporters GM will be holding a large-scale internal event a the end of June to decide if work on the Volt is finally complete. According to GM sources this event is “not a PowerPoint presentation”, but an event in which top executives and decision-makers drive and sample the final refinement of Volt prototypes. If this group gives a thumbs up, then essentially all aspects of the vehicle are frozen into place for retail production.

“Are we done. No. Can we learn more. Yes. But it looks really good right now,” Bly told reporters.

Most of the remaining minimal work involves refining the software that monitors the the car’s electric power system.

This software has to monitor 1000 seperate functions in the extended range electric car propulsion system. Engineers have to decide whether detection of abnormal events are to be displayed on the screens to the driver or recorded for technicians to evaluate at a later point.

There were still some lingering issues on cabin climate control as recently as April which have since been resolved.

Engineers will continue to test not weather behavior throughout July, August, and September. At that point the company will decide exactly when to put the car into production. A day in mid-November remains the intended target.

Cars being built in the assembly plant from now until the first saleable car will be continuously driven in the real world by GM engineers who will attempt to find any flaws thy can.

Test cars are regularly achieving 40 miles or more of pure electric range.

“I see no issues with 40 (miles) at all,” said Bly.
Source (CanadianBusiness)

Also, for those who are interested, you can participate in a live webchat below with Tony Posawatz GM’s Volt director; Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies; and Don Korner, CEO of ECOtality who will be discussing the Volt’s free charing station program today at 11AM Eastern:

Having a 240 volt home charging station will allow Volt owners to fully recharge their car from a depleted state in about 3 hours.  Though not essential because the car can recharge in 8 hours at standard 120V, the more rapid charging is a convenience.

Thanks to support from the Department of Energy, stemming from the Recovery Act, GM has announced that a total of 4400 Chevrolet Volt customers will eligible to receive free 240 V home chargers.

The first 1800 are coming from Coulomb Technologies and $37 million in grants which was announced earlier this month. Those level 2 stations are earmarked for home use in Austin, Texas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Fla., Sacramento, Calif., the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, Redmond, Wash., and Washington DC.  

Today, leading EV charging equipment maker ECOtality, announced it will be able to offer an additional 2600 chargers for Chevrolet Volt customers through a further $30 million grant and an expansion of the EV Project to include Los Angeles and Washington DC.  

In August ECOtality announced it had been awarded a $99.8 million DOE grant to be used for the installation of 12,500 level 2 charging systems and 250 level 3 fast charging stations in Phoenix (AZ), Tucson (AZ), San Diego (CA), Portland (OR), Eugene (OR), Salem (OR), Corvallis (OR), Seattle (WA), Nashville (TN), Knoxville (TN) and Chattanooga (TN) to support rollout of the Nissan LEAF.

Today’s announcement updates the arrangement to include GM Volt customers as well as those of Nissan, who will also get an additional 1000 chargers . The additional 2600 chargers will be installed for free in the home of Volt owners.  The 240 V chargers are on a 40 amp breaker and offer a nominal 32 amp to the vehicle.

“Many owners will plug their Volt into a normal 120-volt electrical outlet, charge overnight and drive to work in the morning using only battery power,” said Tony DiSalle, Product and Marketing Director for the Chevrolet Volt. “For Volt owners who want to install a faster 240-volt charge station, we expect the Department of Energy project to save $1,000 and $2,000.”

The program will collect data such as average charge time, energy usage and the starting and ending time of the charging process. This data will be analyzed by the U.S. Department of Energy to understand how electric vehicles are driven, how and when they are charged, and ultimately what is required for widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

“In addition to saving money, these projects offer Volt owners an opportunity to play a role in developing our collective understating of electric vehicles in the market,” DiSalle said.

The Coulomb and ECOtality chargers are distinct from the Lear-made Volt-specific chargers shown above that will be sold at Volt dealerships.

The Volt will come with a portable 120 v power cord standard, and buyers will have the option of a 240 Volt charger that can be purchased at dealerships.

Owners who live within the EV Project or Chargepoint America regions may apply for a free charger through Coulomb or ECOtality if they are willing to share their data with the DOE in exchange.

Source (ECOtality) and (GM)

GM has partially lifted the veil on how they go about testing cars in hot weather environments in the latest example of Volt development transparency. This week engineers have been putting a fleet of Volt prototypes through extreme heat testing in GM’s Desert Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona.

Hot Soak Evaluation
In this test the Volt is baked all day on black top pavement in direct sunlight and 96 degree temperatures. Lead durability test engineer Steve Pratt measured the interior air temperature of the car at 138 degrees. He went on to check for squeaks and rattles that might be created by the heat, both while standing and driving, and finds none.

He also test the ability of the AC to quickly cool the car to acceptable levels and finds it does so satisfactorily.

“Things went very well,” he said.

Grade Load Testing
In this case GM engineers evaluated the car’s performance at continuous climbing in high heat. To simulate a continuous grade, engineers hitch a towing dynamometer to the rear of the car and drive around a circular track (see graphic above). The dyno can simulate a continuous grade of anywhere from 2 to 10 percent, and on this test they looked at 5 and 7.2 percent at 106 degrees F. The test checks for overheating and how the car handles the stress and strain on what amounts to an endless mountain.

Pratt’s team also took the cars up a 7000 foot climb in Arizona in range extended mode and found they “performed excellent.”

Of note GM doesn’t not recommend using the Volt to tow.  Engineers had to remove part of the rear fascia to hitch the dyno.

City Cycle Testing
In this test GM engineers take Volts into continuous city cycle repeated driving under high heat circumstances. Once again the point is to look for car failures in the grueling heat with particular respect to overheating or electrical disruptions.

Once again, the car handles this testing well.

Trailing Dust Test
In this test the Volt follows behind a Chevy Silverado for 12.2 miles and the truck kicks up desert dust. Engineers then screen for intrusion of the dust into the vehicle through door seal, vents, and other filtration systems. Success on that one too.

Pratt says in his 15 years of running this test, “the Volt is is one of the best cars he’s ever tested” on this course.

Road Schedule Temperature Profile
This checks for real-world pressures and temperatures in the fuel tank at high temperatures. It is done on a 72 minute cycle at 40 percent capacity and ensures fuel is not improperly evaporating.

As GM sums up the experience in a statement, “the Volt has performed very well under the stress and strain of all these tests, but the rigorous testing and validation continues because the Volt is an electric vehicle for all temperatures and seasons.”

The extreme heat testing adds to the suite of previous tests GM has already put the Volt through and shared with us.  This includes extreme winter testing and mountain climbs such as Pike’s Peak.  The car is on track for retail launch now little more than four months away.

Source (GM)

Sometimes people complain when we don’t cover only the Chevy Volt here, but this site is also about the bigger issue of electrification of the automobile.  The Volt, in part spurred on by us, has in part ushered in a wave of electric cars by many automakers.

The Nissan LEAF is particularly important among them because it will be vying for sales from us early adopters and its company and CEO are promising high volume mass production.

This week in Japan, Nissan is for the first time ever, allowing journalists to test drive pre-production LEAFs.  This is similar but far behind to what GM has been doing with the Volt over the last many months.

Hans Greimel of Automotive News is among the first to publish his experience.

He noted the car is to accelerate from 0 to 60 in just under 10 seconds, but found it “deceptively easy to clip along at 60 mph without even trying.”  He called the car’s silence “deafening,” and found it so easy to get to high velocity because of the lack of transmission shifts and other engine noise as speed indicators.

Because the car was so silent, Nissan has equipped it with a startup chime as well as pedestrian noises (that we already heard).  He said the pedestrian noises cannot be heard in the cabin, fortunately.

Greimel noted that Nissan only has four pre-production vehicles at the present moment, and he drove one of them.  This seems an oddly low number, because although the LEAF is to go into production in December and the Volt November, GM already has more than 400 pre production Chevy Volts.

Greimel also found out the optional solar panel rear spoiler can only trickle charge the 12v lead acid battery used for windshield wipers and electric windows.  It is not connected to the 24 kwh lithium pack.

Embarrassingly, and possibly telling of Nissan’s rush into this arena, the journalist did experience minor glitches in the pre-production unit.  The joystick knob, for example, could not be placed in neutral, even when the Nissan engineer tried it.  Also the iPhone remote charging app could not connect to the server and its demonstration had to be scrapped.

In terms of driving quality Griemel said “the Leaf glided noiselessly and effortlessly around Nissan’s proving ground.”

He summed the situation up this way “the question is whether customers will accept a certain amount of range anxiety in exchange for a clean, peppy, futuristic car.”
Source (Automotive News)
Below is a video of Wall Street Journal reporter Yoshio Takahashi at the wheel: