Chevrolet’s Volt electric car has garnered 2010 Car Of The Year Awards from North American publications Motor Trend and Automobile.
Holden plans to launch its version of the Volt in Australia and - with a current range of 550 kilometres - this electric vehicle with a Holden badge could be a game-changer. Such is the current pace of battery development, that range for the Volt could be substantially improved by the time of local launch.
Currently the Volt drives for the first 40-80 kilometers on electric power only, using energy stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the battery charge gets low, a small petrol-powered engine/generator springs into action to extend the driving range.
GM says average drivers using a similarly-sized petrol-engined vehicle would save about 1892 litres of fuel per year if they switched to a Volt.
And for those local Councils and State Governments currently debating who would pay for the electricity if a few electric vehicle recharging stations were installed in cities and shopping precincts, here’s an interesting fact – recharging a Volt every day uses less power per year than a refrigerator.
Come-on bureaucrats - for the good of our nation, Governments should get behind electric cars and just provide the re-charging stations for free, rather than arguing about who’s paying for what. After all, it’s not as though we’re going to be flooded with millions of Chevrolet/Holden Volts, Mitsubishi iMIEVs and Nissan LEAFs straight away…and even then, most people will recharge at home overnight.
