Holden Volt News

Too heavy, but good to drive. "For all the greenery, it's still got an internal combustion engine in it. And it should be forty grand," Chris Riley said at the COTY judging.

The five-seater, with substantial input from Holden's Melbourne-based design studio, was first shown as the Volt MPV5 Concept at the 2010 Beijing motor show. Holden's parent General Motors is known to be working on a production version but the company isn't saying a word about its existence or future. But GM has previously stated that it would expand the Volt's drivetrain into other models. The SUV makes sense - it adds another model and expands sales to offset the huge development and production costs of the Volt's drivetrain. It also attracts a bigger audience, especially to families as the Volt sedan only has four seats and a limited cargo capacity while the planned SUV can seat five people and have a large boot. The concept was shown with a flip-and-fold rear seat that expands cargo volume from 863 litres to 1763 litres - sufficient to consider a third row of seats. China's concept "volts-wagon'' sits on the Volt platform which is also the same as the Cruze. While the SUV shares the wheelbase, it has a bigger body that is 178mm longer, 180mm higher and 75mm wider. It shares the Volt's T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack - that is 1.8m long and weighs 200kg - but because the SUV sits higher than the electric sedan, it allows a bench seat at the back. The SUV will be heavier than the sedan and won't be as aerodynamic, so the electric-only range will be reduced.  

Incorrect calculations by journalists are responsible for rumours that General Motors was losing almost $50,000 for each Volt sold, says former GM executive Bob Lutz.Firing back at the reports within a Reuters article, Lutz called the loss estimate as "preposterous''. He should know. Lutz was the guy who led the electric Volt's program.The range-extender electric sedan is due here in November as the Holden Volt. Lutz, answering Reuters reports in his column in Forbes magazine, says costs were "very roughly'' equal to the price of the car - that is, $US37,000.He says that Reuters only used figures based on the number of cars sold to date - not amortising the figures over the expected life of the model.GM last month sold a record 2831 Volts, beating the prior record of 2289 cars in March. In the year to date, GM has sold 13,497 Volts, more than four times the sales of the same period in 2011. Holden will start selling the Volt in November for about $60,000. 

Holden's all new humming and dancing Volt electric car returns an amazing 1.2 litres per 100km juice use. Although equipped with a small petrol engine like a hybrid, the Volt is an electric car with a “range extender” because the petrol component never directly powers the wheels. Rather it generates power to run the electric motor when the battery pack runs flat. And that mans, like any EV, it wants plugging in to recharge before it’s good to go again. Still, it’s an exciting concept from company associated with far more mundane modes of mobility. But before we nominate it for the Eureka Prize for scientific innovation, it’s worth considering the immutable maths of the matter. Those less exotic Holdens, including the LPG-powered Commodore SV6 and turbo diesel Cruze CDX sedan, are both vastly cheaper to buy and – it transpires – to own. Priced from $46,290, the SV6 returns 12.3 litres/100km. The $31,040 Cruze auto gets 6.7 litres/100km. Neither are in the Volt’s ballpark. And yet … Checking the price of fuel today we found a Sydney spot that dished up LPG at  65.9 cents a litre, diesel for 144.9 cents and the Volt’s premium 95 unleaded for 145.9 cents. Why top notch juice? Because that's what Holden use to achieve the official fuel test figures you see on the windscreen sticker. At these prices the Volt costs $1.75 to run for every 100km travelled, the Commodore $8.24 and the Cruze $9.71. But – and it’s a big but – when you factor the Volt’s $14,000 premium over the Commodore and the $29,000 over the Cruze, it’s  battery powered glow begins to fade.  The sums you save on either pays for a whole lot of fuel for a long time to come. You would have to travel 211,000km before breaking even with the Commodore or a whopping 363,000km in the case of the Cruze. Does anyone other than taxi drivers keep their cars for such distances? And we all know what they feel like after that long on the road. They're just not built to go the distance. You could “Cruze” all the way to the Moon or circumnavigate the Earth five times in the Commodore before the Volt would start paying for itself. If it’s not easy being green, it also sure ain’t cheap.    

The Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has awarded the five-star rating to the Holden Volt, which has been officially launched this week and goes on sale in November at $59,990.

The price slots the Volt in between the V6 and V8 Calais V Commodore sedan models. Holden staffers say the plug-in electric vehicle will arrive in the last quarter of the year and early-adopters can order now. The Volt -- which has an electric-only range of nearly 90km but extended to 600km using the on-board engine -- will be in one model specification but also brings a forward collision alert and lane departure warning safety systems to the Holden stable for the first time. Keyless entry and start, eight airbags, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and touchscreen satellite navigation are also among the Volt's features. The infotainment system has a 30gb inbuilt hard drive linked to a six speaker BOSE that uses Bose Energy Efficiency Series speakers that require 50 per cent less energy to run. Holden's sales and marketing executive director John Elsworth said Holden had chosen to launch the Volt in with a strong features list. "Volt will offer some of the most advanced electric vehicle technologies in Australia and has won a long list of awards and fans around the globe,'' he said. Mr Elsworth said the Volt would prove electric cars don't need to be quirky and had what buyers expected from Holden. "It will have real appeal to buyers looking to drive the latest in technology, without having to compromise on either range or functionality. "With all of the standard premium features, Volt makes a very compelling choice for car buyers who may not have considered an electric car before or may be looking at premium European vehicles,'' he said. The company has also revealed a fixed-price servicing program for the Volt - $185 for the first four standard scheduled log book services for the first three years or 60,000km, whichever comes first. Holden also confirmed there would be a transferable eight year/160,000km warranty on the Volt battery, charging and electric drive components.  

The cars have been enlisted to supply recharge data for the Victorian Government's Electric Vehicle Trial. Four Aussie-spec Volts will join four left-hand drive evaluation vehicles in a 12-week test of the vehicles' typical range and recharge patterns ahead of the car's local launch late this year. Holden's director of Energy and Environment Richard Marshall says: "By getting involved in the Victorian Electric Vehicle Trial we hope to develop a better understanding of how people drive and recharge vehicles in Australia." The eight cars will be driven by Holden staff, who will provide feedback to the launch team and share their experience of living with an electric car via social networks. "Ordinarily the vehicle development process is shrouded in secrecy but with Volt we're taking a different approach and encouraging the evaluation drivers to talk about their cars with friends, families and online contacts," Marshall says. The Volt is the size of a Holden Cruze but is powered by what GM says is the world's first extended range electric vehicle, meaning the 1.4-litre petrol engine is used to generate more electricity instead of helping with locomotion. Holden says the Volt has a range of up to 80km on electric power, with the petrol engine extending that to 600km. More than 60 vehicles and 200 charging stations are being used in the EV trial, which will run until 2014. The Victorian Government will use the data to map driving and recharge habits that will help plan infrastructure and energy grid upgrades. Carmakers taking part include multinationals like Nissan, Mitsubishi, Holden and Toyota, local importer EDay Life and Victorian-based EV conversion specialists Blade Electric Vehicles. Updates from the drivers will be posted on Holden's blog  

After winning the "Car of the Year 2012" award, the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera that will be rebadged as the Holden Volt here has now also won the 13th International Monte Carlo Rally for electric and alternative propulsion cars.Four Amperas ranked among the top 10 vehicles. The French duo Bernard Darniche and Joseph Lambert managed to beat the entire competitive field. On Sunday, the final day of the contest, the revolutionary electric vehicle reached the finish line in the capital of the Cote d'Azur principality.Some 130 competitors from around 30 manufacturers took part, among them seven Amperas, including one private Ampera team. The other contenders included a Renault Fluence Z.E., a Tesla Roadster sports car, a Mitsubishi I-MiEV and a Peugeot Ion.Apart from the overall victory, the Ampera teams with Charlotte Berton and Olivier Sussot ranked third, Jean-Claude Andruet and Patrick Lienne came in 7th and Hanns Werner Wirth and Daniel Riesen finished 8th.The rally started in the three towns of Annecy-le-Vieux, Clermont Ferrand and Lugano for 550 kilometres via Digne-les-Bains, the capital of the French district Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to Monaco.On the second day, the teams had to complete a distance of 272 kilometres, leading them through Monaco and the original route of the Monte Carlo Rally through the French Maritime Alps. In two days the teams were subjected to regularity tests and had to prove their driving skills by pushing their vehicle s to the limit.Apart from the regularity tests, the focus lay with fuel consumption. With the help of a ratio derived from vehicle weight, CO2 emissions, the energy density of the fuel and its consumption, the organisers were able to calculate a comparison value and draw up an overall ranking.Bernhard Darniche. had already won the legendary Monte Carlo Rally in 1979 and has more than 10 times been successful in winning the special stage over the famous Col de Turini. The Vauxhall Ampera is the first electric vehicle that can go anywhere anytime. A 16 kWh lithium ion battery powers the 111kW/150 hp electric motor. Depending on the style of driving and road conditions, distance of between 25 and 50 miles can be covered in the battery-operated mode, completely free of tailpipe emissions. The electric propulsion system delivers instant torque of 370Nm enables zero to 60mph acceleration in 8.7 seconds and a top speed limited to 160kmh.

The range-extender hybrid – in Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera form -- won with a convincing victory over the Volkswagen Up and Ford Focus. It was named as champion at the Geneva motor show, following its victories last year in the World Green Car of the Year contest and the North American Car of the Year award and despite recent safety questions, poor sales and a production shutdown in the USA. The Europe COTY is decided by 59 judges from 23 countries and the Volt, which wears a Chevrolet badge also carries Opel Ampera badges in some countries, finished on top of a field of 35 contenders. Its winning margin was a 330-281 whitewash of the Up, with the Focus gaining 256 points. Each of the judges has 25 points to allocate among seven finalists and the other cars that made it to the final round of the competition were the Range Rover Evoque (186 points), Fiat Panda (156 points), Citroen DS5 (144 points) and the Toyota Yaris (122 points). "Our car demonstrates that electric driving can be fun and reliable without ever compromising the owners' lifestyle," says Susan Docherty, presient of Chevrolet Europe. The Geneva show is a major event for car awards, with the three finalists in each of the 2012 World Car of the Year categories also revealed. The finalists for the overall World COTY crown are the Up, the Porsche 911 and the latest BMW 3 Series, while the 911, Lamborghini Aventador and McLaren MP4-12C will compete for World Performance COTY. The World COTY contenders were culled from an initial field of 34 new vehicles from around the world and the winners in all categories - including awards for design and green motoring - will be declared at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 5.

Slow sales - running well behind forecasts - have derailed the GM green hero in the past week, after it took hits from a high prices and a safe scare last year.GM decided last week to 'idle' the Volt factory, which means stopping production temporarily, to clear a backlog of around 6000 unsold cars and adjust output to the actual showroom demand in the USA.Production at the Hamtramck factory in Detroit will be stopped for five weeks and 1300 workers will be idle, following first-year sales that only hit 7671 against a prediction of 10,000 and only 1626 deliveries in January. But Holden says the Volt drama will not affect its local plans, with the car already locked-in for sales in 2012."There are no concerns," Holden spokesperson, Emily Perry, says bluntly. "Honestly, the market dynamics in the US are not appropriate for us to talk about."She refuses to discuss or acknowledge the potential impact of the shutdown on local confidence, particularly after last year's Volt fires, and says Holden is not worried about pricing the Volt too high.Early guesstimates put the likely Volt price in the $65,000 range, based on the $48,800 sticker for the Mitsubishi iMiEV electric car and the $34,990 base price for the Toyota Prius, as well as the complexity of the range-extender hybrid drive system - which uses an onboard petrol engine to charge the car's battery pack - in the Volt."We're confident we have the right strategy for the vehicle. We haven't given any pricing," she tells Carsguide. "It's a one-of-a-kind vehicle. But of course we plan to sell more than just one."The first Australian Volts should arrive within two months to begin local engineering work and evaluation runs and, although Perry will not comment, customer deliveries are likely by August."Our vehicles are not affected by the situation in the US. For us, we have no concerns and we're really excited about the launch."