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Americas Team,
GE is playing a leadership role in moving Electric Vehicles (EVs) from anticipation to action – and you are a part of this movement! Jeff Immelt announced a game changing global commitment to purchase 25,000 EVs as part of a plan to convert half of GE’s global vehicle fleet by 2015. This is the largest commitment ever to an EV fleet. http://www.gereports.com/in-largest-single-commitment-ge-to-buy-25000-electric-vehicles/
GE’s commitment to EVs is part of our Ecomagination business strategy to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technology through innovation and R&D investment. Further, it serves as an important market validation of new vehicle technologies and the associated charging infrastructure. EV’s are an important step toward energy independence and a way to reduce our dependence on oil. By deploying EVs into the GE fleet we can accelerate the market acceptance of EV’s, and gain insights into potential new business opportunities for charging infrastructure and smart grid technologies…while reducing emissions from our fleet.
General Electric GE WattStation charging
"Electric vehicle technology is real and ready for deployment and we are embracing the transformation with partners like GM and our fleet customers." "By electrifying our own fleet, we will accelerate the adoption curve, drive scale, and move electric vehicles from anticipation to action."
……..Jeff Immelt
GE Businesses across the USA have piloted and deployed over 300 EV’s in 2011. GE is now moving this project forward from the pilot phase into full scale deployment. GE Healthcare is at the forefront of this effort, with about half of the entire GE fleet worldwide.
Please embrace the new vehicle technology, the Chairman’s initiative, and the positive environmental impact of EV’s.
CHANGES for 2012 Fleet Program
- All sedans ordered in 2012 for GEHC will be the Chevrolet Volt. http://www.chevrolet.com/volt-electric-car/
- All crossover and minivan vehicles will be migrated to an EV sedan when the current vehicle is up for replacement. The current EV sedan is the Chevrolet Volt. Field Engineers are an exception, and will be able to order larger vehicles based on job requirements. FE EV’s are expected in future years.
- Drivers ordering Volts will be set up for a home site assessment/estimate for 240V electric charger installation. If a dedicated 110V home outlet is available, the vehicle can be charged on 110V until the installation of a 240V charger is completed. There may be instances where home 240V charger will not/cannot be installed, therefore charging on 110V home outlet, public charging stations or all gas use will be justified.
- Monthly home electric reimbursement will be via T&L. Rates are determined using state DOE average KW rates and will be updated periodically.
- Public charging expenses to be expensed via T&L using AMEX card.
- To encourage EV deployment, if an employee is eligible for a fleet vehicle, a fleet vehicle will be made available. If a new driver opts out of the fleet program and elects to drive a personal vehicle, there will be no reimbursement. For current employees who qualify for a fleet vehicle, but have chosen to drive a personal vehicle, reimbursement by GEHC will stop as of 1/1/2013.
· GEHC will no longer offer all-wheel drive vehicles beginning this order cycle.
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As I'm sure you know, the torque that is occasionally provided by the Volt engine through the motor to the wheels is less than the torque of the e-motor itself.
This gives us a dividing line between a "range-extended electric car" or "series hybrid" (e.g. Volt, Karma) and a "plug-in hybrid" that has a larger, wall-chargeable battery pack but still gets most of its total torque from the engine (e.g. Toyota and Ford PHEVs).
We do so to make clear to readers that the Prius Plug-In & the Volt operate very differently & feel different behind the wheel. [cont]
Really? Is a LEAF charged from an NG generating plant make it a hybrid? Or a fuel oil plant? Obviously there is a difference with an on board generator, and that makes it a hybrid.
You are joking, right John? I didn't know you had a sense of humor.
So, John, does that mean that the Leaf has to tow a fleet of diesel generators behind them to charge their battery when it runs down after a hundred miles like the Volt has to haul a ICE, tailpipe and gas tank behind them and stop to charge their battery for 16 hours every 40 miles? You do realize just how unusual your statement sounded don't you?
In the end, we feel it's important to highlight the differences for buyers in e-range, driving experience, and efficiency in different modes between series hybrids and plug-in power-split hybrids. Hope this helps.
Also, what if Chevy drops the Volt range to 10 miles all electric, does it then become a plug-in hybrid?
Does the Karma change from an E-REV to a plug-in hybrid when you put it in "Sport mode"? After-all, it is then getting more "torque" from the gasoline engine.
Seems like you are making a distinction without a difference. There is a continuum of modes of operation here.
To me, I think it makes more sense to draw the line based on solely on the e-range and not consider whether or not the gas engine kicks in to get you up to highway speed.
And a related Q: Do you agree with the absolutist position often used to complain about our practice that if it has ANYTHING else beside a battery pack and a traction motor (e.g. a range extender--or perhaps a hydrogen fuel cell), then "it's not an electric car"?
Related to that, something like the GEM is an EV or BEV, but I don't suspect we would ever want to end a sentence without more qualifications. We would always say NEV so that no one mistakes for a serious vehicle.
We already at pains to explain hybrids as "start-stop" or "mild" or "full" because there is such a significant difference in performance.
If it gets power from anything other than on board batteries it's not an EV, and twice as complex.
Our search data indicates that people searching for "hybrids" are NOT interested in the Volt. They are looking for info on standard, non-plug-in hybrids.
The search term used by the general public for *anything* that plugs into a wall socket is "electric car" (not "EV"), btw.
The Volt plugs into the wall. There is no "hybrid" model of the Volt, and in fact GM avoids that term altogether. In the eyes of the public, it is an electric car--because it plugs in--regardless of whatever else it has on board.
The test will come with the Prius Plug-In Hybrid, since the public knows a Prius IS a hybrid ... but it also plugs in.
Personally, I like EREV for the Volt (not hybrid) and I think as long as a vehicle has at least 30 miles of e-range, it should be categorized as an EREV.
But I think there is an important concept missing in the PHEV40 concept. For argument sake,let's say that the plug-in Prius had a 40 mile e-range, and so does the Volt. At that point, is there NO difference between the plug-in Prius and the Volt?
Seems to me that it is impossible to use the plug-in Prius in a gasoline free way even with a 40 mile e-range. That is a key difference from the Volt.
1) first 40 miles per day, pure EV (like LEAF)
2) after that, hybrid (like the Prius)
So in order to make that case that the Volt is Primarily a hybrid, you have to envision more than 81 miles per day of usage. Then I think it is fair to call the Volt a hybrid for that user.
Less than 40 miles per day, the Volt is a pure EV for that user, which seems likelier to be the case for most people.
Between 40 and 80 miles per day, the Volt is somewhere between and EV and a hybrid. That is why I like the E-REV designation for the Volt.
At any mileage per day the Volt is still a hybrid, it's dragging around an ICE, gas tank, exhaust system, etc. and is much more complex than an EV. Part of the benefits of an EV is it's mechanical simplicity, and reliability. The Volt is more complex than an EV, or an ICE, since it's both. Always, no matter how it's being driven at the moment.
To get a long range, you are going to have to drag something heavy around with you either an ICE range extender or a large battery that seldom gets used.
Yes, if your interest is primarily in CO2 emissions, there may be little difference between the Volt and the Prius.
If you are like Voelcker and have less interest in the environment and more on "driving dynamics" (whatever that means) the Volt is better because the torque is all from the electric motor.
If you are interested in getting off foreign oil, the Volt is better again because you can drive daily without using any oil. That is not the case with the Plug-in Prius and is an important psychological difference (even if the practical difference is little).
Actually the battery always gets used, but since it's larger it is usually shallow cycled and lightly loaded, which increases it's lifespan, far beyond that of a hybrid. Not only does a hybrid carry around a potentially unused ICE it also has to severely limit the usable capacity of the pack, and the smaller pack is always under greater load compared to it's size, shortening it's potential lifespan.
Depends on your driving needs. As I understand it as long as your speeds are under 60mph the Prius won't use the ICE until the pack is depleted. Regardless people with specific interests that detailed will be able to easily figure out the differences before they buy.
Governmental consumption in action...
EVs will greatly aid wind power. The wind tends to blow more at night when demand is low which leads to lower profits. Bringing a lot of EVs to the grid and charging them at night will increase wind farm profits. Higher profits means more turbines installed.
The wind tends to pick up in late afternoon in Wyoming which makes it a perfect partner for SoCal solar power, it's why transmission lines are being built to tie Wyoming wind to the Pacific and Intermountain Interies (HVDC transmission lines).
The availability of wind at night often drives the wholesale cost of electricity close to $0.00/kWh.
MrEnergyCzar
Haters have to hate and lovers of conspiracies love to fine depper meaning that is really there. hate it, if you want, but don't call others like of the vehicle dishonest, that's just a paranoid attack on others.
$40k-$42k purchase price, $7.5 tax credit->let's use $33.5 in the middle. At 15k miles/year and 80/20 EV use, compared to a vehicle with 25 MPG overall, it saves 514 gallons a year. 600 versus 86. Even at $4 gas that will only increase, that's $2,056/yr. in fuel savings. Even paying for electricity adds only $60/month (I'm using my local nightime rates in MI), so -$720/yr., so still a savings of $1,316 year. In five years, savings=$6,580.
So $33.5-$6,580, or less than $27k. Not insignificantly, about the average cost of a Prius.
Yes, EVs are horrible and foreign oil is much better. I mean, eventually, we'll win a war in the Middle East that doesn't cost more than a trillion.
Using your definition "an "electric car" is any vehicle whose wheels are turned *primarily* by the electric traction motor(s)." would make every Diesel/Electric Locomotive an "Electric Train".
"Electric Car with extended range" is GM Marketing pitching one of the advantages of a hybrid electric vs. a pure electric car. Toyota could market the Prius as an "Electric Car with extended range and performance" if it wanted to. You can drive it as all electric until the battery runs down or you want to go faster then 10mph. Then it switches to the "extended" mode by starting the gasoline engine to charge the batteries and drive the wheels.
Have an opinion?Join the conversation!