GM To Test 100-Mile Chevrolet Cruze Electric Car in S Korea
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For U.S. car buyers, GM is convinced that a range-extended electric vehicle--its 2011 Chevrolet Volt, to be specific--is the best solution to meeting the needs of drivers who may need to go further than the 40 miles a Volt will do on battery power.
But elsewhere in the world, GM is quietly pursuing all-electric vehicles of various types. The latest one, announced today, is a prototype all-electric Chevrolet Cruze, with a 31-kilowatt-hour battery pack (almost exactly twice the size of the Volt's 16-kWh pack), which will offer a projected range of up to 100 miles.
Cells from LG Chem ... again
The electric Cruze is a joint effort among GM's South Korean subsidiary, GM Daewoo, along with lithium-ion cell maker LG Chem and LG Electronics, a sister company, which is providing the electric drive motor and inverter. (Some of the cars will also be labeled Daewoo Lacetti, the previous name of the same model sold only in Korea.)
In addition to the range of 100 miles--which GM qualifies as data that was achieved "on specific test schedules"--the electric Cruze is said to do 0 to 62 mph in 8.2 seconds, and achieve a maximum speed of just over 100 mph.
Recharging time on a 220-Volt outlet is 8 to 10 hours, and GM plans to test a high-voltage quick-charging application as well.
Real-world EV usage data
The project's goal is to "explore market needs and customer acceptance of battery electric vehicles in South Korea," though the size of the fleet to operate in the capital city of Seoul hasn't been announced. Like many other test fleets, the maker will acquire real-world data on driving patterns and recharging behavior.
The project begins next month, indicating that the electric Cruze has been in development for some time now. LG Chem also manufactures the cells used in the Volt's battery pack, so it's reasonable to assume the two vehicles share some battery-pack technology.
No loss of trunk space
Moreover, "While battery packs often occupy trunk space, the Cruze EV’s battery pack is mounted on the underbody," notes GM's announcement. "This gives the Cruze EV the same trunk space as conventional vehicles with gasoline engines."
In other words, it's just possible that the 100-mile 31-kilowatt-hour battery pack occupies no more volume than the Volt's smaller capacity T-shape pack, which sits in the tunnel and under the rear seat.
Why? Because both the gasoline 2011 Cruze and the electric 2011 Volt are built on the same basic understructure, heavily adapted for the change from gasoline to electric drive. A Cruze body on a Volt platform, minus the gasoline range extender, would be a logical adaptation.
Precursor to all-electric Volt?
So is this electric Chevrolet Cruze a precursor to an all-electric Chevy Volt with a 100-mile range? Or perhaps a Chevrolet Cruze Electric that would face off head-to-head with the 2012 Ford Focus Electric that Ford has already announced will be built alongside the gasoline Focus in its Wayne plant?
If so, GM may be able to compete directly with the all-electric Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus, plus offer an electric-drive vehicle with a range extender that eliminates any worries about range anxiety (the Volt). Which would be a very neat comeback for the company vilified for terminating its EV1 program in a noted documentary.
Testing EVs in China and, now, Korea
This isn't the only all-electric GM vehicle being tested, by the way. Just a few weeks ago, GM China confirmed development of an electric Chevrolet Sail. So China and Korea are the first two regions in which GM's plans to build a small number of all-electric cars will play out. No doubt the company will announce the third one in due course.
The company has also shown more futuristic electric personal transportation units, most recently in China this March, where it showed an autonomous, electric, electric two-wheeler city car.
Those cars are far less likely to hit the U.S. market though. A nice all-electric, 100-mile Chevrolet Cruze in, say, 2013 or 2014? We think that might hit the spot quite nicely.
[Chevrolet]
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ev enthusiast Posted: 9/18/2010 6:19pm PDT
Ryan Posted: 9/18/2010 9:34pm PDT
James Posted: 9/18/2010 10:02pm PDT
The overpriced the Volt so that 99% of the population cannot afford it. =(
ev enthusiast Posted: 9/18/2010 11:38pm PDT
no one company is of any real importance.
look at all the companies who are starting to produce electric cars.
no one has a choice, if they want to stay in business. gas cars will become dinosaurs rather quickly.
all i care about is quality evs being manufactured. who makes em is not important.
each company, well known or not, will need to make quality cars if they want to survive.
let the battle begin !!!!!!
cdspeed Posted: 9/19/2010 7:32am PDT
James Posted: 9/19/2010 9:12am PDT
ev enthusiast Posted: 9/19/2010 10:10am PDT
aesop has lots of fables about how greed can kill. our individual greed is hurting us in many ways, as well.
ryan Posted: 9/19/2010 1:17pm PDT
in regard to post by James saying the leaf and prius will sell hundreds of thousands. I was told by Mr. Voelcker that all the full ev car are being sold in limited production...10k a year for Volt(PEV) and leaf 20k a year. meanwhile nissan is saying they have 100k interested customers.. The likely hood that you get a leaf is apparently limited!
cdspeed Posted: 9/19/2010 4:17pm PDT
ryan Posted: 9/19/2010 5:53pm PDT
The Volt is the first serious production series hybrid in the world. (The BYD F3DM doesn't really count, as it's not saleable outside China and a few other markets.)
I'm slightly baffled by the astounding depth of GM hatred I've seen in some of the comments on this site.
Yes, I get the EV1 story, although as even director Chris Paine admits, his documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" was anything but balanced. (And I gather GM comes out favorably in his follow-on documentary, "Revenge of the Electric Car.")
In any case, I hope my intention in the original comment to Ryan is now clear.
ev enthusiast Posted: 9/19/2010 8:41pm PDT
if anything, the volt will hurt the ev industry. we would be better off without it. it is totally unneeded. if gm had really wanted to help the ev industry, it would have come out with a true ev that did not burn gasoline.
we dont need a car that runs for 40 miles on electricity, and then burns gas.
luckily, we have plenty of car makers coming out with true evs.
so if gm wants to do something crazy, let em. just dont force us taxpayers to bail them and their oil shills out again. they already demonstrated their real intentions with their actions on the ev1. the release of the volt is just a reassurance from them that those intentions remain unchanged.
one would have to be nuts to buy a new gas volt. what a horrible waste of money. what they will be stuck with is real range anxiety.
they wont be able to go further than 40 miles without adding to the oil company profits, while everyone else is going 100+ miles on electricity, when they purchase a real ev.
i suspect that three years from now, you will look back and wonder why in the heck you didnt see what most everyone else on this site is already seeing.
Jimza Skeptic Posted: 9/20/2010 3:47am PDT
The VOLT on the other hand fits the needs of the mass consumer. It will cut fuel consumption by 60-70% for the majority. And for some it will cut even more!
You cannot tell me you can live within a 50 mile out and 50 mile back max range. Chances are that the range will be even less. And if that is the case, you should be riding a bicycle and not even expending the carbon needed to produce an EV and the carbon emitted from power plants.
ev enthusiast Posted: 9/20/2010 9:01am PDT
most people can tell you that they can easily live within 100 mile range. do you really think that most people work more than 50 miles away ?
you gotta be crazy. your posts look foolish, at best. go sell your gm gas guzzler to someone who is not too smart. those will be your only customers, and you wont find them on this site.
Bret Posted: 9/20/2010 10:21am PDT
I don't think the Volt will sell well, because it's too complex and expensive. But, I do think extended range EVs are a viable platform and they are suitable for many drivers. Toyota is going to produce the plug-in Prius for around $28K and eat GM's lunch. Then, EREVs will come out with better range extenders, such as Wankels, micro-turbines or even fuel cells and they can ditch the heavy ICE setups they are using today. GM will also come out with pure EVs, if Ford and Nissan are sucessful.
Me personally, I plan to buy a pure EV, such as the Focus, because I want to reduce cost and maintenance. But, I also own a pickup truck, so I can buy a pure EV with a 100 mile range and be happy. Soon, EV range will jump to 200 or 300 miles and the prices will come down. Then, EVs will make sense for a lot more Americans.
cdspeed Posted: 9/20/2010 10:38am PDT
@ Jimza, every thing in your home, apartment, or the cold war bunker you live in, runs multiple items off electricity. Think of all the things we wouldn't have without electricity, the food in your fridge, even the comment you left on this site are producing emissions.
Ryan Posted: 9/20/2010 11:54am PDT
In that article you said “We would only report on the Testla Model S when it is confirmed, rather than a final production car”...what does that mean exactly? Confirmed by who??? Testla is the first automaker in U.S. to sell over 1000 ev's and is in works with Toyota to buy their Corolla factory in California to built the Model S. Tesla motorcars is truly an AMERICAN Company Building full ELECTRIC CARS. U..S..A… U..S..A U.S.A. USA….USA !
Khadgars Posted: 9/20/2010 1:36pm PDT
The Volt already has over 100,000 arm raisers and GM will easily sell every Volt they produce.
Further more, the Volt has a lot of options to head into in the coming years. You can turn it into a pure EV, or produce a dedicated on board generator that can get phenomenal gas millage instead of using a traditional ICE that they have now.
Even still, the Volt with a full charge will an equivalent of over 100 mpg. It's a great concept and in the coming years they will be able to greatly reduce the cost of the vehicle.
Remember too, hybrid sells account for 2% of all vehicle sells in the U.S, there is still a long way to go before hybrid market has the lions share. GM has plenty of time.
James Posted: 9/20/2010 2:18pm PDT
ev enthusiast Posted: 9/20/2010 3:15pm PDT
we dont need disgruntled customers. volt purchasers will be unhappy, once they realize they made a bad decision.
if gm wants to market it as a hybrid, that would be one thing. to market it as an electric vehicle is incorrect.
we do not need to be convincing anyone these first years. there are waiting lists for people to purchase evs.
gm comes along, with a gas burning car, and markets it with scare tactics about how evs will leave you stranded in the desert.
i see the volt as an anti-ev vehicle. as i stated previously, we would be better off without it.
only naive thinking thinks that gm came up with the volt because of the assertion that people cant get along with 100 miles per charge.
the correct thinking is that gm wants to keep gasoline alive for as long as possible, and deliberately made the volt to market it with scare tactics, so as to delay those with "range anxiety" from getting a true ev.
just wait for a few years, and you can tell me how correct i am. the writing is so all over the wall.
about all of jimza's posts are how range anxiety will kill the ev industry. so i am not giving him any slack.
ev enthusiast Posted: 9/20/2010 3:22pm PDT
turn the volt into a pure ev ? then how is gm gonna market it ? when they previously had stated how pure evs will leave you stranded, and you need the gas engine in your car.
gm is so full of it. as ryan said, look at what people and companies DO, not what they SAY.
they crushed the ev1s. were their owners complaining about how the vehicle would not go far enough on a charge ?
heck no, they were begging gm to allow them to somehow keep their ev1s that they liked so much.
try looking at the facts and reality. once that is done, correct conclusions are more likely to follow.
Cliff Posted: 9/21/2010 7:56am PDT
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