GM's bankruptcy will obviously have an impact on the release of its prized electric vehicle (EV), the Chevy Volt, but what exactly will that impact be? As of right now, no one is sure.
In an interview with The Washington Post, auto industry consultant William Holstein stated, "We don't know whether GM will be able to introduce the Volt or not. It would have been, and could still be, a breakthrough vehicle." But Rob Holstein, manager of Electric Vehicle Communications at GM, claims that there will be no impact on production. And Rob Peterson, a spokesman for GM's EV communications, says that the company will begin building preproduction Volts next week in Warren, Michigan. By October, Peterson believes that 80 Volts will be on the road as press cars and test vehicles.
Even if test cars are readied, GM CEO Fritz Henderson says that the company will have to improve profit margins across its entire fleet to have the resources to invest in advanced technologies like the Volt. As of right now, though, GM still plans on releasing the car in November of next year.
With so many different predictions, it's hard to remain upbeat about the Volt--and the prospect of EVs in the near future from the Big Three manufacturers in general. Fortunately, we still have plenty of other EVs to look forward to from start-ups such as Tesla, ZAP, and Fisker. In the end, we may look to these start-ups and other small car companies that don't have long histories of financial issues for our auto needs.
[Via Greenbiz, NY Times, Washington Post]
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Related Stories: | Topics:Innovation, Technology, Ethonomics, Chevy Volt, GM, fisker, tesla, zap, ev, phev, electric vehicle, Chevrolet Volt, Rob Peterson, The Washington Post Company, Electric Vehicles, Automotive Technology |
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Recent Comments | 6 Total
June 3, 2009 at 9:56am by Noah Robischon
Great question @Raphael. Lower production costs are part of the equation, obviously. But the range? Seems like Chevy should outsource to BYD.
June 3, 2009 at 10:32am by Bill Hazelton
One would hate to suggest that a 'new GM' would get started by being out-flanked by innovations and beaten to market by smaller, leaner manufacturers, with better products at a lower cost. I fear that the design and production team for the Volt may end up among the tens of thousands of GM employees getting discharged. [Sorry]
@Raphael, I think the reason the competitors can do it better, etc., is that they are moving rapidly with developments in battery capabilities, while GM's process, being slower, requires settling on a design earlier. This 'older' design is then passed by the speed of battery development. Recall also the Japanese cars of the 1970s: lighter, simpler, function-oriented. They also took advantage of modern developments in production to cut costs, etc. Result: 40 years on only Ford is still viable as a US automaker.
June 3, 2009 at 12:42pm by Maya Reznik
Where will the US military get its Hummers now that they are owned by the Chinese? I cant imagine any other vehicle standing in the Hummers place that is in the market right now.
June 3, 2009 at 1:26pm by David Osedach
Maybe they'll sell it to China...
September 9, 2009 at 1:47am by Brandon Paul
Well, I guess everything comes to an end. But I still hope chevy will still rise up to its hole. I have read an article just last week that chevy is rebuilding chevy s10 parts to have its new model on 2011. I hope this is a good indication that chevy is still stable.