[srschrier]

Does anyone know if GM might be adapting the new high capacity (60 KW) battery pack used in the new Chevy Bolt for the next generation Volt? It would be great to have the higher battery capacity available, perhaps an an option.

 

[Ladogaboy]

I doubt it. After a certain point (say 20 kWh), it is no longer beneficial to add an ICE generator backup. You are basically "all in" at that point. The Bolt EV's battery weighs close to what you would expect the typical ICE system to weigh, so you could basically get 80 kWh of capacity for the same weight and space as a 20 kWh + ICE generator system. At that point, you'd have close to 300 miles of range with the ability to recharge about 250 miles in less than an hour.

 

[DonC]

Highly unlikely. It wouldn't remotely fit in the available space. Also, at the cell level, the chemistry is different because a BEV and an EREV put different demands on the cells.

 

[bjrosen]

The Bolt's battery weighs about twice what the Volts battery weighs and it has almost four times the capacity so a 30KVh battery using the Bolts batteries would weigh no more than the current battery but it would give the Volt a hundred mile EV range. A Volt with a hundred mile EV range would be ideal. A one hundred mile EV range would take care of all local driving, the current 53 mile can't. I'd upgrade in a heartbeat if they upped the range to 100 miles so I hope they drop Bolt batteries into the Volt.

 

[Steverino]

To answer the question, no, no one knows.

 

[16513]

Yup, what you ask is Top Secret info, but if the Volt is to survive even one more design cycle in the face of ever-improving battery energy density then it will surely have to keep extending its EV capacity to remain competitive. More is always welcome. Volt may evolve along the lines of the i3 EREV: 'bigger' battery/much smaller ice.

 

[saghost]

A compact car doesn't need 60 kWh of battery unless it's driving electric for a few hours at a time - I doubt anyone will add an ICE to a pack of that size for a compact car.

However, it's the same number of cell groups and nominal voltage as the rest of the recent GM EVs, and appears to use a very similar heating/cooling strategy - so it could fit in to a Voltec system without much changing in the software and system architecture.

I don't think it makes sense for the next generation Volt (assuming GM makes one, instead of going all electric in 2020/2022), but if they decide to make a Voltec Silverado/Tahoe it could make sense for that...

 

[alfon]

Look for the Gen 3 Volt to have a 75-100 mile all electric range, and a 50+ mpg when just running on the gasoline engine. Also possibly a different body style reflecting that of a VW Sportwagen. I would imagine the weight would also come down to perhaps 3300 lbs as well.

 

[Bill Step]

how about buying a bolt and adding a small diesel engine and generator,,drive the front wheels w/ it.maybe a .71 ratio single gear drivebox and couple w/ a clutch.complicated yes,,doable,,depends on space up front.
but if the volt went 100mile ev,,I'm in,good by gen1.

 

[rmay635703]

You either have a big battery and a small range extender or a small battery and a big range extender.

Do you really want the volt to become an i3

 

[1LeeMartin1]

I doubt it. After a certain point (say 20 kWh), it is no longer beneficial to add an ICE generator backup. You are basically "all in" at that point. The Bolt EV's battery weighs close to what you would expect the typical ICE system to weigh, so you could basically get 80 kWh of capacity for the same weight and space as a 20 kWh + ICE generator system. At that point, you'd have close to 300 miles of range with the ability to recharge about 250 miles in less than an hour.

True...EXCEPT...what IF the Power grid goes down...for whatever reason?? Then ALL YOU HAVE IS A NICE PLANTER??
That is why it is NICE and maybe essential to have BOTH??)

 

[hellsop]

Folks, don't forget what drove the Volt's battery sizing in the first place: 90% or something of the population can do their daily driving in the range that's currently offered. If it's easy, convenient, and cheap, to add to that range, Chevy will do so, and has. But if the new range comes at a loss in any of those categories, they already HAVE the Volt where they want it, targeting the audience that it was designed for. You're more likely to see a DIFFERENT vehicle pop up with a Voltec-style hybrid system (maybe llninja's six-seater crossover) than a Volt that's much more than the same kind of refinement over the Gen 2 that the Gen 2 was over Gen 1.

 

[Norton]

This is what is great about dreams ! Love it! I'd buy one!

Look for the Gen 3 Volt to have a 75-100 mile all electric range, and a 50+ mpg when just running on the gasoline engine. Also possibly a different body style reflecting that of a VW Sportwagen. I would imagine the weight would also come down to perhaps 3300 lbs as well.

 

[Phronesis]

True...EXCEPT...what IF the Power grid goes down...for whatever reason?? Then ALL YOU HAVE IS A NICE PLANTER??
That is why it is NICE and maybe essential to have BOTH??)

Have you ever gone to a gas station during a power outage?

 

[Belgin]

The current Volt will be around for another 3 years at least. The main issue will continue to be price. The $7500 Gov rebate will go away and then GM has to figure how to recoup some of that without passing it on to the end user. If the cost rises too much more, no takers. Also for about the same money you can by a Bolt-for me it looks too much like a cheap Honda Fit to take the plunge. If the model 3 is close to what they say it will be, then I don't see the Bolt doing very well.

They made the Gen 2 too much like a regular car. In this case a Chevrolet. What made the Gen 1 unique was it was a cool concept that happened to be a Chevrolet, much like a Corvette. Being a Chevrolet was no big deal to wanting one. The current Volt is now viewed as Chevrolet that is a hybrid car. No big deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Gen 2 is a better car. But it is not a car that people are drawn to because it looks like a Cruze or a year old Honda.

 

[Ladogaboy]

I will say something radical, here... I think they might phase the Volt out. The Voltec platform would then be applied across all models, and the current Volt will be the future Cruze ECO.

 

[Slotracer577]

Would love to see a volt with a bigger battery. I have a lot of days with in town driving where I am 50/50 gas/electric. Would be nice to be all electric for daily around town driving and gas for the longer trips.

 

[Norton]

...a Bolt-for me it looks too much like a cheap Honda Fit to take the plunge....
.... The current Volt is now viewed as Chevrolet that is a hybrid car
.....people are drawn to because it looks like a Cruze or a year old Honda.

You put a lot of stock in 'Looks'. Like a woman buying a dress. Some men look at the spec sheets of cars.

I wish the Volt was viewed as a 'hybrid'. It's a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle: PHEV, with a +50 mile EV range.
But you won't hear GM talk like that. It's all, "when the generator powers up blah, blah ....".
It's a hybrid with a big ass battery that can power the car as a full 4-season EV, unlike some other PHEV's on the market.

Some people are drawn by looks.

 

[Fyodor]

True...EXCEPT...what IF the Power grid goes down...for whatever reason?? Then ALL YOU HAVE IS A NICE PLANTER??
That is why it is NICE and maybe essential to have BOTH??)

When the grid went down here, before there were any EVs at all, most people were stranded with what was in their tanks at the time, since the gas stations were out of service. I was lucky, I had a full tank of diesel in my TDI, more than enough to go anywhere I wanted.

 

[Fyodor]

You put a lot of stock in 'Looks'. Like a woman buying a dress. Some men look at the spec sheets of cars.

I wish the Volt was viewed as a 'hybrid'. It's a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle: PHEV, with a +50 mile EV range.
But you won't hear GM talk like that. It's all, "when the generator powers up blah, blah ....".
It's a hybrid with a big ass battery that can power the car as a full 4-season EV, unlike some other PHEV's on the market.

Some people are drawn by looks.

... and some by function. Handsome is as handsome does.