Future Models - Holden 2012 Volt

First look: Volt takes over where EV1 left off

Power pack: The Volt has a range of 1000km.

• What is green?

General Motors has resurrected an all-electric car

8 January 2007

By NEIL McDONALD

GENERAL Motors has gone back to the future with the Volt electric car.

Powered by GM’s next-generation electric propulsion system – E-flex System – the system could almost eliminate trips to the petrol station.

The four-seater sedan is a battery-powered but uses a turbo-charged 1.0-litre petrol engine to create additional electricity to extend its range.

It owes its heritage to GM’s $US1 billion EV1, launched in 1996 but unceremoniously dumped by GM in 2003 after just 1000 hit the roads.

Since then the EV1 has become immortalised in the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car".

Unlike the EV1 though, which had a ridiculously small range before requiring a recharge, the Volt can cover 1000km and can be fully charged in six hours via the standard US 110-volt outlet.

When the lithium-ion battery is fully charged, the Volt can deliver the equivalent 7.0L/100km of pure electric vehicle range.

As well, the Volt is designed to run on E85, a fuel blend of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol.

A technological breakthrough required to make this concept a reality is a large lithium-ion battery. This type of electric car would require a battery pack that weighs 180kg and GM expects such a battery to be production ready 2010 to 2012.

The Volt is built on a modified future small car platform architecture that will underpin the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR.