GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

Korean carmaker Hyundai has now officially entered the electric car race. The company unveiled its first full speed all-electric vehicle called the BlueOn at a Korean state ceremonial event where it was test driven by Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

The car was entirely produced in Korea and is based on its compact i10 hatchback city car only on sale in Korea. Starting now the company will deliver 30 vehicles to test fleets for the Korean government to use.

BY the end of 2012, Hyundai plans to have produced 2500 of the vehicles.

The car uses a highly efficient 16.4 kwh lithium-ion battery pack which powers a 61 peak kw electric motor capable of producing 210 Nm of torque. The BlueOn has a maximum speed of 81 mph and can do 0 to 60 in 13.1 seconds. Hyundai says it has already performed “hundreds of thousands of miles” of testing on its lithium ion battery pack.

Hyundai say the car can travel up to 87 miles per charge, and using the built in 380-v quick charge system can be about 80% recharged in under 25 minutes. Using 220-v household power it takes about 6 hours to charge the car.

The car is similar in size and performance to the Mitsubishi iMiEV, though gets about 10% more range from the same sized battery pack due to efficiency improvements such as an active hydraulic booster system for the regenerative brakes.

It is equipped with a pedestrian alert sound system called the Virtual Engine Sound System (VESS) and a 4.2-inch TFT LCD Supervision Cluster that provides voice guidance. The power steering, electric water pump, and regenerative brakes were electrified to be adapted to the BlueOn.

“We are proud to introduce the world to BlueOn, which was fully developed in Korea and displays Hyundai’s latest technological advancements,” said Dr. Hyun-Soon Lee, Vice Chairman at Hyundai’s Corporate R&D Center. “Consumers’ interests and demand for eco-friendly cars are rising and securing such advanced technology is critical in becoming an industry leader. Hyundai is dedicated to reducing its carbon footprint and satisfying market needs.”

Hyundai Motor America spokesman Jim Traynor, told the New York Times he was  ”not aware of any plans to introduce or market the BlueOn in North America.”

Source (Hyundai)

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) published the results of their new study called Electric Vehicles: The Future of Driving in which American adults were surveyed online about their opinion of pure electric cars.

The study revealed a full 40% of US adults planned to test drive an electric vehicle and are open to the idea of purchasing one. Forty-two percent said they are likely to follow news reports about electric cars. Almost one third (32%) said they were familiar or very familiar with hybrid cars, but only 25% said they were familiar with electric cars.

The chief reasons people cited for wanting to own an electric car were positive environmental impact and reduced operating costs. Over three-quarters (78%) said the ability of these cars to drive without gasoline was the major reason for wanting one, while 67% wanted them because they produce less pollution. Lack of need for oil changes and tune-ups was the top reason for 60% of those wanting to purchase an electric car.

“For a new product category, interest in electric vehicles is strong and likely to grow as more vehicles enter the market and consumers become more aware of them,” said Chris Ely, CEA’s manager of industry analysis. “Manufacturers, dealers and other sellers will need to emphasize mileage and battery-related specifications when promoting and selling electric vehicles.”

The study did reveal that people perceived significant disadvantages to owning an electric car. Chief among a them was fear of running out of electricity while driving, cited by 71% of respondents. About two thirds (66%) were concerned about lack of charging stations and/or not being able to recharge, and limited range was a concern for 59%.

Half the respondents (51%) said they would be less likely to purchase an electric car if specialized home charging equipment had to be installed.

“Environmental benefits, coupled with potential cost savings in fuel and tune-ups, will lead to increased interest for electric vehicles and potential floor traffic at dealerships,” said Ely. “But concerns regarding battery life, charging stations and limited mileage may keep some consumers away until a comprehensive infrastructure is in place.”

The study surveyed 950 people from the US between May 27th ad June 3rd 2010.  Familiarity with the term plugin in hybrid was not specifically asked, nor was the preference of a 40 mile EREV versus a 100 mile EV determined.

Source (CEA)

When Fiat took over control of Chrysler there was some natural synergies that looked to be exploited, like Chrysler can’t built and sell a small compact car to save their life. Fast forward a few months, and the announcement came that Fiat would introduce the 500, Italy’s answer to the Mini Cooper, at Chrysler dealerships around the county at the end of 2010, with a convertible version in 2011.

Not far behind that announcement was another. Joining the Fiat 500, would be the 500 EV, an all electric version of the same car. The Fiat 500 can travel approximately 100 miles per charge (is this some kind of industry standard?) and according to Fiatsler’s CEO Sergio Marchionne. the small EV will go on sale in early 2012 for around $32,000. No word yet on whether that is a ‘post-rebate’ figure, but given the price of the standard petrol version…it is.

Right. So all good then?

Nope.

This coming Monday, Chrysler/Fiat has set up a meeting for 600 odd of their finer dealers, trying to convince at least 200 of them that paying several hundred thousand dollars for a separate/unique showroom and having a dedicated sales team is a good thing to do. Did I mention that the 500 is the ONLY car from the brand that will be available in the US? Sergio must be a heck of a salesman.

One east coast dealer considering the Fiat for his dealership commented to the WSJ (sub req’d) that, “…the enthusiasm for the Fiat coming to the market has diminished.” While adding that over that time the plan from Chrysler had changed “at first, it was something that would be mixed in (with Chrysler models)” on the showroom floor, whereas now “they are going to have to present a compelling story and product to back me investing at least $1 million to build a new showroom.” /you think?

According to Chrysler, dealers will have until September 22nd to make their decision and sign off on the franchise requirements to become a Fiat dealer. So what happens if Fiat doesn’t find 200 mentally challenged willing Chrysler dealers? Mr. Marchionne says he will shop the idea around outside the Chrysler dealer network.

As they say in Italy, “In bocca al lupo!!!”

Arguing over the merits of the pure EV versus the extended range electric car rages on, though we are aware and indebted to Tesla for bringing the idea of electric cars to the mainstream and inspiring Bob Lutz and GM to create and unveil the Volt concept.

Now, three years later and Tesla has just launched its IPO, while ironically the new GM is about to launch theirs.

These economic events have led to a number of comparisons of the two companies appearing in the press.  A particularly uncharacteristically scathing report comes from Agnus MacKenzie, the Editor-in-Chief of the mainstream automotive publication MotorTrend who took a swipe at Tesla in favor of the Volt.

For all of Tesla and its vociferous CEO Elon Musk’s talk, MacKenzie points out, the reality is only about one thousand $100,000 Tesla Roadsters have been sold, and the much ballyhooed future $57,400 Model S EV exists only in a one-off prototype. Furthermore, only an additional 100 Roadsters are on order, and despite government loans to do so, the company is very far from making the Model S a real saleable reality by its intended 2012 deadline, a mere two years from now.

He even goes so far as to say Musk’s talk of Tesla’s technology being disruptive is really “nonsense”; pure electric cars are nothing new, they were around in the 1890s, with ranges of 50 to 80 miles by 1910.  He also expresses some fear about the idea of Silicon Valley computer geeks building cars as opposed to the century-old tried and true engineering of Detroit.  ”This is supposed to be a good thing?” he writes.  ”If I owned a car that was as unreliable and glitch riddled as the computers and software I use every day, I would be filing a lemon-law suit.”

Mackenzie notes Nissan is already far ahead of Tesla, writing “so while the Model S is still pretty much vaporware, Nissan has already launched the world’s first purpose-built, mass-produced EV, the Leaf,” which can be bought at ” your local Nissan dealership next year.”

Finally he concludes something we’ve known here for a long time:

But perhaps the ultimate irony is it’s GM, long the Silicon Valley poster-child for all that’s wrong with the auto industry, that’s poised to launch a car that may be more significant than anything Tesla is ever likely to build. The Chevy Volt is a thoughtful, innovative, technically advanced vehicle; the prototypes we’ve driven confirm it cleverly combines the best attributes of an electric motor and the gasoline internal-combustion engine. Disruptive technology? Sorry, Elon, there’s more at GM than Tesla.

Source (MotorTrend)

The Chevy Volt is a brilliant solution that allows mainstream drivers the opportunity to execute the majority of their driving using electricity as fuel.

Though GM believes in Voltec technology and has put its best foot forward with the Volt, it is still keeping the other foot in the pure EV game.

According to Karl Stracke who is GM’s Vice President of Global Vehicle Engineering, the company will be establishing a global EV test fleet. The fleet will deployed in several regions around the world, and will consist of several different cars. A working prototype of an electric Chinese Chevrolet Sail already exists (shown above).

“These demo fleets will increase GM’s competitiveness in vehicle electrification by providing GM with real-world data on driving patterns, battery charging, market needs and customer acceptance while sharing costs and resources with supplier and government partners,” said GM in a statement.

I reached out to GM spokesperson Brain Corbett for further details.

“We’re launching multiple BEV demo fleets in various regions around the world using different types of vehicles,” said Corbett. “We’ll have more details going forward.”

Corbett acknowledged that the EV fleet will include many partners.

“We have many partners with these BEV demo fleets and can’t disclose everything at this time,” he said. “The partners do not include another automaker. In fact, the BEV demo fleet strategy mirrors our battery strategy — we’re partnering with suppliers, universities and government agencies. This allows us to share costs, resources and learnings.”

He explained the purpose of the demonstration fleet is to further the development and progress of core competencies and components.

“The primary goal of the BEV demo is to continue to develop our core vehicle electrification components: batteries, power controls and motors,” he said. “These components are needed for hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles such as the Volt.”

“The BEV demo fleets will also provide real world data of customer acceptance of BEVs and use patterns and charging operations,” he added.

Unfortunately it appears the US won’t be included in the demonstration program

“Going forward, we will disclose the specific vehicles, number of vehicles and location of these demonstration fleets, although I will tell the US is not included,” he said.

2010 Honda Insight

And finally the last has fallen.

Following GM, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, and Audi, now Honda has finally committed its entry into the plug-in hybrid arena. In an announcement in Japan, Honda’s CEO Takanobu Ito announced the company will launch both a plug-in hybrid and a pure battery electric car in 2012.

Both cars will go on sale in the United States in 2012.

Ito outlined a broad strategy with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions. “Honda will have no future unless we achieve a significant reduction of CO2 emissions,” he said.

To achieve those goals highlights specifically related to the U.S. market include:

• By the end of 2010 and continuing through 2011, Honda will roll out a battery-electric vehicle demonstration program in the U.S. with participants, including: Stanford University, Google Inc. and the City of Torrance, Calif.
• The City of Torrance will receive a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle for evaluation by the end of 2010.
• A battery-electric commuter vehicle will be introduced in the U.S. market in 2012.
• A new plug-in hybrid system for mid-size to larger vehicles will be introduced in the U.S. market in 2012.
• Honda’s first hybrid application of a lithium-ion battery will debut in the next- generation Civic Hybrid to be introduced in 2011. The lithium-ion battery was developed through the Honda and GS Yuasa joint-venture company, Blue Energy Co., Ltd.

Its truly amazing to consider just three years ago when GM first announced the Volt concept, nearly every major automaker criticized them calling the technology too immature. Now every major automaker in the world has committed to mass production of plug-in cars.

Since GM-Volt illustrated very early on just how much widespread consumer demand there was for such car, its nice to imagine even just to dream we here played a role in this.

Source (Honda)