[adric22]

I know this has been discussed before, but I can't find the thread. Plus, I think that thread was based on the Gen-1 platform. In fact, I think it has been brought up more than once. And so I'm familiar with the argument(s) for and against it. However, I keep thinking about what Bob Lutz said about the Volt as far as when battery ranges increase to hundreds of miles, "who needs a gas engine anymore?"

So one of the things I have been wondering lately... would it even be possible? With the Volt's current battery design, I can't see them being able to cram much more into the car. I suppose they could use the area where the gas tank used to be. But I don't think the engine bay is a viable place for more battery. So once they remove the ICE, that space would probably not get used for that.

So, I'm just curious. With the current battery tech we have from LG Chem, how much range do you think would be possible to squeeze into an all-electric version of the Volt? I mean, the new Focus Ev is managing 115 miles by retrofitting a gas car. The Volt should be easier, since it does have a dedicated battery space. I'd probably switch to an all-electric version of the car if the range were 150 miles with fast charge option.

I know it isn't likely, at least until maybe the 3rd generation. But I am just curious on other people's opinion.

 

[Just_Jon]

So you are wondering about the possibility that Chevy will come out with a small all-electric car with the name ending in "OLT"?

That's crazy talk!

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

It would need a redesign. They have the Bolt.

I'm not sure if there will even be a Gen 3 Volt.

I think that the only reason to have a Gen 3 Volt BEV would be if they could have good enough DCFC that it's worth pushing into Tesla's space and having the good aero.

 

[BAZINGA]

My life style is such that since March 2012 all three of my Volt's have operated at over 92% all electric. My 2012 and 2013 both operated as 92.8% (Patty Wagen and BAZINGA on VoltStats) and my 2017 just ticked past 99% (Von Zipper on VoltStats). My 2017 has less than 50 miles on the ICE. So I'm sort of proof some folks could operate a Volt like an EV.

 

[Steverino]

I want an ICE range extender that does not limit me to using charge stations on a very long trip...to anywhere the road goes.

 

[PilotAlan]

I'm not sure if there will even be a Gen 3 Volt.

I think there will be. The question is if the Cruze goes away.
Like as has been said, the Voltec platform (with variations and upgrades) will be moving into more and more card (like in the new Malibu).

Once they get the economies of scale, the Volt and Cruze may merge (retaining one of the names). The Volt won't be special, it will be the standard.

 

[Bacardi]

I don't think we'll see a Volt 3...Now with the Volt adopting the Bolt EVs cells, I suppose it's possible I see the range about the same or a very slight bump...Cost cutting and standardization are the reasons to do it...

 

[SharkVolt]

Since the Bolt battery weighs over 900 pounds, and the Volt one about 400 pounds, and the Bolt has nearly double the capacity of the Volt, they probably will be able to double the range of the Volt in a few more years easily, in the same space and weight as the current one.

 

[llninja]

It would need a redesign. They have the Bolt.

I'm not sure if there will even be a Gen 3 Volt.

I think that the only reason to have a Gen 3 Volt BEV would be if they could have good enough DCFC that it's worth pushing into Tesla's space and having the good aero.

I'm guessing there might not be a gen3 volt, but we will see other variants like the Malibu hybrid, CT6 phev, and hopefully more vehicular variants like Voltec or Boltec equinoxes, suburban, impalas, etc. of course, if the current administration relaxes the mileage requirements, it will come later rather than sooner. After driving a volt, I'm not sure I want to go back to ICE.

 

[SharkVolt]

Since the Bolt battery weighs over 900 pounds, and the Volt one about 400 pounds, and the Bolt has nearly double the capacity of the Volt, they probably will be able to double the range of the Volt in a few more years easily, in the same space and weight as the current one.

 

[Ladogaboy]

Some of the limitations are based on battery configuration. The Volt uses a T-shaped battery, and it needs to because of the ICE. The only way to put a battery with a similar configuration to the Bolt EV is if the ICE and gen set were moved to the rear of the vehicle. Regardless, I think that 100 miles of range would be the most people would want while still having an ICE gen set.

Personally, I'm interested in how viable the Volt would be as a pure BEV if you tore the ICE out and replaced the battery and ICE components with a Bolt EV style battery. 111 kW is more than enough power for a car like the Volt.

 

[16513]

I think there will be a Gen 3 that will have a platform battery. The Volt name does have SOME value.

 

[mazda3-turncoat]

I'm guessing there might not be a gen3 volt, but we will see other variants like the Malibu hybrid, CT6 phev, and hopefully more vehicular variants like Voltec or Boltec equinoxes, suburban, impalas, etc. of course, if the current administration relaxes the mileage requirements, it will come later rather than sooner. After driving a volt, I'm not sure I want to go back to ICE.

See Llninja, now THATS the kinda talk I wanna hear , I mean, whenever I drive past a gas station, and I see the prices always spike before a long weekend....or whenever the gas titans wanna make another few billion to replace their "aging" fleet of Rolls Royce limos, they just say the word, and gas goes up 5....10....or sometimes 14 cents per litre. They have the world essentially by the "chandileers" gang....Whenever one of those "gas whales" sneeze, the whole world catches cold..(drawing a parallel here fellas)And I'm still driving my "gas guzzling" Mazda3 Sky....Now That's what is motivating ME to go out and buy a Volt...or a bolt...right FVk'n NOW !!! Know what I mean ?

Even though electricity is high now in terms of the price it was, sayyyy, 15 years ago....it's nowhere NEAR the cost of a litre of gas comparably. And think about gang, it never will be. Because if it did, North America would go down the toilet overnight. See, that's preCISELY why I wanna get my Volt......I want one so bad I could "TASTE" the "battery acid" now !!

 

[llninja]

See Llninja, now THATS the kinda talk I wanna hear , I mean, whenever I drive past a gas station, and I see the prices always spike before a long weekend....or whenever the gas titans wanna make another few billion to replace their "aging" fleet of Rolls Royce limos, they just say the word, and gas goes up 5....10....or sometimes 14 cents per litre. They have the world essentially by the "chandileers" gang....Whenever one of those "gas whales" sneeze, the whole world catches cold..(drawing a parallel here fellas)And I'm still driving my "gas guzzling" Mazda3 Sky....Now That's what is motivating ME to go out and buy a Volt...or a bolt...right FVk'n NOW !!! Know what I mean ?

Even though electricity is high now in terms of the price it was, sayyyy, 15 years ago....it's nowhere NEAR the cost of a litre of gas comparably. And think about gang, it never will be. Because if it did, North America would go down the toilet overnight. See, that's preCISELY why I wanna get my Volt......I want one so bad I could "TASTE" the "battery acid" now !!

You realize, don't you that the oil prices are ultimately set by OPEC, right? The low cost of fuel is caused by OPEC increasing production in an attempt to make fracking unsustainable. They can turn off the spigot to reduce supply and cause the prices to skyrocket on a whim. And the rest of the world is caught. So the sooner we change to a fuel that isn't priced by a monopoly where we can buy power at competitive rates worldwide, the sooner we won't be under OPEC's control.

 

[viking79]

The Volt range is set for compliance reasons, with the 2016 Volt they made it 53 miles to maximize the amount of credits from the vehicle. GM has no incentive to increase it beyond that other than for competitive reasons (and none of the competitors are even close for range), and I don't see much demand for a Volt with that much range. People want "pure" BEV. To be honest they could probably cut the range back on the Volt and free up some interior space.

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

The all-electric models: BMW i3, Chevy Bolt EV and Spark EV, Fiat 500e, Ford Focus Electric, Honda Fit EV, Hyundai Ioniq Electric, Kia Soul EV, Mercedes-Benz B 250e, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Nissan Leaf, Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, and Volkswagen e-Golf.

 

[Slotracer577]

With the road trips I do, I need at least one vehicle that can do 1000+ miles in a day. That is hard to do in a bev. Even a tesla could not do a Denver to Chicago via i80. Not enough charge stations. The current volt would need a lot more battery to run as a full time ev for me just on daily driving. We had a cold snap this weekend and ended up at 50% electric use. We are looking at a bolt to replace our other tdi, but will be keeping the volt for weekend drives and road trips as the bolt can not do either of those roles.

 

[flyingsherpa]

Since the Bolt battery weighs over 900 pounds, and the Volt one about 400 pounds, and the Bolt has nearly double the capacity of the Volt, they probably will be able to double the range of the Volt in a few more years easily, in the same space and weight as the current one.

Volts have 16-18.4 kWh, Bolt is 60... so above triple (3.3-3.8x) the capacity at about twice the weight, with a larger SoC window.

OP, the T-shaped pack is probably a limiting factor. Sure, it's great in a crash since it's so protected. But it's clearly not the most efficient packaging (no one else uses it, and all long range EVs have batteries in the floor). I don't see GM designing a new T-shaped battery for a pure EV Volt... why compete with the Bolt? Now, if they took 1/3 of the Bolt's battery and put it in the floor of a gen3 Volt for an 80 miles AER with EREV and no battery hump... that would be awesome. I think Volt will always stay EREV since that is its defining feature.

 

[flyingsherpa]

Some of the limitations are based on battery configuration. The Volt uses a T-shaped battery, and it needs to because of the ICE. The only way to put a battery with a similar configuration to the Bolt EV is if the ICE and gen set were moved to the rear of the vehicle. Regardless, I think that 100 miles of range would be the most people would want while still having an ICE gen set.

Personally, I'm interested in how viable the Volt would be as a pure BEV if you tore the ICE out and replaced the battery and ICE components with a Bolt EV style battery. 111 kW is more than enough power for a car like the Volt.

I don't think that's true... I bet you could have a floor battery with a (heat shielded) "exhaust cutout" in a Volt-like car. Or have the battery offset a bit to one side so the exhaust can run on the other side. I agree you don't want too much AER in an EREV... I think 100 miles might even be too much. I would love 80.

 

[mr_raider]

Pour engine coolant into the oil refill. Voila! Instant pure EV. Plus you get to own a vintage 90s GM product.