GM E-Flexes its green muscle with Chevy Volt

Published Jan 7, 2007

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Detroit, Michigan - General Motors has unveiled what it calls "a radical shift in its powertrain technology" with an engine that can run exclusively on battery power but the reality is that it's little different to those already in production.

The Chevrolet Volt uses lithium-ion batteries that can be recharged from a garage wall-socket - though it will take six hours! - and has a small back-up engine, just like other products; GM's desire, however, is to have bigger cells in its batteries and has challenged battery-makers to produce them.

GM, after seeing Japanese rivals such as Toyota do well with hybrid vehicles, has produced the "E-Flex" system as "the next step for alternative engines beyond petrol".

"Hybrid" technology, essentially, uses battery-supplied electricity to drive a vehicle at low speeds; a conventional petrol or diesel engine fires up as more power or speed is required. - or in case the battery goes flat.

The Volt engine based on E-Flex is on show at the North American International Auto Show two months after GM announced a big shift in strategy to explore new technologies and, GM says, will bring closer the "all-electric" vehicle era.

Bob Lutz, GM's vice-chairman for product development, said the company was so confident about the Volt concept that it had started engineering development on a vehicle while batterymakers wrestle with GM's specifications.

"We're betting the batteries will be ready when the vehicle is ready," he said.

The GM system has a range of 60km or so - way less than the 100-150km of the groundbreaking but short-lived EV1 electric vehicle introduced by GM in the early 1990's - but the company believes 60km is far enough for most urban drivers.

Just in case, he sees the vehicle having a one-litre, three-cylinder internal combustion engine that can run on petrol, diesel, ethanol or bio-diesel to extend the car's range to more than 1000km.

"We're going to do this fast," GM's vice-president for global programme management Jon Lauckner said, "though it's too early to be talking about cost."

Bob Lutz added that many people merely wanted to commute without using an internal combustion engine and GM was attracted by advances in lithium-ion batteries already used by cellphones, tools and laptop computers.

"We need fewer but larger cells," Lutz said. "That's the part that has to be handled but we're confident - we don't think it's insurmountable."

- GM has already approved contracts for experimental battery packs capable of building lithium-ion cells for the Saturn Vue "plug-in" hybrid announced in November. - AFP

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