The Chevrolet Volt is a car that has been in the news a lot; actually it has been talked about since January of 2007 according to U.S. News & World Report. Seem hard to believe? Even I find it hard to believe that we have been anticipating the newest form of hybrid electric vehicle for basically three years. It also isn’t the first time that we have seen Chevrolet get into some hot water around its figures…specifically around the vehicles range or miles per gallon estimates. The newest point in question is the range the Volt can achieve when only using electric power.
U.S. News & World Report writes, “Exposed in a 560 page document filed with the US Security and Exchange Commission, in preparation for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), Chevrolet is saying that the typical range of the Volt is “25-50 miles depending on terrain, driving technique, temperature and battery age.”” Now exposed may be a little harsh, but they have a valid point about the range. The propensity in marketing is to highlight the best case scenario because that is generally what captures people’s attention (enter the possibilities for customer satisfaction issues). However, we don’t really see Chevy back tracking.
In the case of the Volt, AllSmallCars.com and many other outlets have reported that the range is expected to be 40 miles on an electric charge. Reports have also been made calling into question whether this will actually be accurate in most cases given the issues the MINI E saw in cold weather in New York City. Rob Peterson, GM Volt spokesperson says, ““We’ve always said up to 40 [miles].” He goes on to say, “[Chevrolet] tweaked the EV range from 25 to 50.” Peterson and GM believe that the low end of the spectrum of 25 miles on a single charge is very close to the worst-case scenario a consumer could experience.
What do you think, was GM over stating or is 40 miles a reasonable estimate to give the consumer public given that we know the LEAF and Tesla also vary in their actual mileage per charge? Drop us a comment and let us know what you think.
[Source: U.S. News & World Report]
