Kelly Lin Words. When General Motors launched the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid in 2010, it was heralded as a breakthrough "car of the future. But it’s still a notable mixed message that the company’s push toward modernization required axing its signature hybrid. Copyright © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Be in the know. The company is justifying scrapping a hybrid model as part of an effort to double down on truly emission-free cars. Hummer EV Edition 1, BMW i3 milestone, New Jersey might ban gas cars... 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1: 350-mile electric off-road SUV priced at... Porsche plug-in hybrids, Model Y recall, GM EV plant: Today’s Car News, Model Y tow package recall points to a continued Tesla strength, Musk responds to Lucid Air, Model S price cut $5,570, Fire concern prompts stop-sale, US recall for 2019-2020 Hyundai Kona Electric, Honda Accord Hybrid, Hummer EV factory, Lucid Air and Tesla Model S pricing: The Week in Reverse, Most of Tesla lineup gets a range boost: up to 353 miles for Model 3, 371 miles for Model X, No VW thing: Fisker Ocean electric SUV to be built by Magna, Arrival will make its stylish electric trucks for US at South Carolina plant, Mercedes-Benz EQC 4x4 scouts the trail for an electric G-Wagen. I understand that I can unsubscribe at any time. GM had hopes that customers would be ready for a car that could go 38 miles on electricity before a small internal combustion generator kicked in. Powered and implemented by FactSet. And it costs only around $1 worth of electricity to charge the battery, he said. “As the current vehicle portfolio is optimized, it is expected that more than 75 percent of GM’s global sales volume will come from five vehicle architectures by early next decade.”. Automotive giant General Motors’ massive reorganization and push to electrification is ironically shuttering production on one of its signature hybrids, the Chevy Volt. After announcing a company restructuring that would wind up in cutting nearly 15,000 jobs, a GM spokesperson confirmed to Inverse that production of the Volt will end on March 2019. Although it would be nice to continue producing the Volt, GM needed to stop making it due in part to changing consumer preferences for SUVs, he said. As much as you'd like to, it's probably better to let it go. The Volt was one of the first two modern electrically powered cars to go on sale in 2010, and is still the longest-range plug-in hybrid on the market. The question was: "What will happen to GM's Voltec system now that the Chevy Volt has been discontinued?" "I've been really surprised at the lack of marketing," he said. It led to advances in lithium-ion batteries similar to those that power smart phones and computers. The next largest group, 29 percent, was the most pessimistic, saying that the system will simply die, implying that GM is not serious about making cars that plug in, even though it also sells the Chevy Bolt EV, which was the first affordable long-range electric car when it went on sale in 2017. It also put the future of five GM assembly plants into question. The Volt wasn't the first electric car, but it was the first to conquer anxiety over range at a reasonable cost. GM announced on Nov. 19 that it would discontinue building the car in a wave of layoffs and plant closings that saw both the Volt's factory and that of the Chevy Cruze that underpinned it cut off. Nov 26, 2018. Originally, the Volt was to be a sleek, futuristic five-seat vehicle built to hold a battery and a new three-cylinder engine to generate electricity, said Navigant Research analyst Sam Abuelsamid. He bought another one last year, a revamped model that can go 50 miles on electricity before the gas generator starts. Americans have quit buying many small hatchbacks like the Volt, and Detroit automakers especially have all announced plans to quit building as many cars, focusing instead on crossover SUVs. ICE Limitations. "It's not the right vehicle for the market today," said Abuelsamid. "We viewed it as a stepping stone to full electrics, which were totally out of reach due to the then-astronomical cost of lithium-ion batteries.". The Volt was notably the the first production plug-in that was produced and sold in the United States when it first went on sale in 2010, per GreenCarReports. GM, he said, should have spent more to promote the car. But the company appears to be shifting gears toward fully electric vehicles and other strong-sellers like pickup trucks. Yet the Volt did serve a purpose. The majority of our readers agreed that would be the most likely outcome, with 52 percent saying that GM will build an SUV with the system. GM's limited-range EV1 came out in the 1990s, and Tesla put out its 200-plus-mile Roadster in 2008 for more than $100,000. Instead of trying to make up ground, GM is shifting focus to its “crossovers, SUVs and trucks.”. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Then again, reorganizations of this size are also par for the course in the rapidly changing, skills and labor intensive automotive industry. But such advances ultimately led to the Volt's demise as GM and other manufacturers developed fully electric vehicles that can go 200 more miles per charge. Sales averaged less than 20,000 per year, not enough to sustain the costly undertaking. Winters routinely goes 1,400 miles between gas station fill-ups, which he likes. Twitter poll results, GM to kill Chevy Volt production in 2019 (Updated), GM wants Trump administration to consider national electric-vehicle mandate, BMW has made 200,000 of its quirky i3 electric cars, 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1: 350-mile electric off-road SUV priced at $112,595, 2023 Cadillac Lyriq electric crossover will be made in Tennessee, GM confirms, 2021 Porsche Panamera plug-in hybrids get more electric range, quicker acceleration, 2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e: First drive of 50-mpg all-weather hybrid, Tesla to offer full refunds to buyers who miss tax credit cutoff, Affordable Audi electric, Ford police hybrids, Tesla refunds: Today's Car News, New Jersey might join California ban of gasoline new-car sales by 2035. When General Motors announced in November that it would stop production of the Chevrolet Volt, it was a shock to many green car fans' systems. Factories in Ontario, Detroit, Ohio, Maryland, and Michigan will see slow-downs or halts in production in 2019. What is ballot harvesting — and should you hand your ballot to a stranger? CHECK OUT: GM wants Trump administration to consider … Reuters reported that all of the aforementioned factories “build slow-selling cars,” which could have been the nail in the coffin for the Chevy Volt. Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox. Market data provided by ICE Data Services. It took nearly four more years, but the first Volt — a longer-range version of a plug-in hybrid — rolled off the assembly line late in 2010. "While it was a financial loser, it did what was intended," said retired GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, who shepherded the Volt into production. I agree to receive emails from Green Car Reports. GM reported that Volt sales were lagging behind the Prius, Hyundai Ioniq, and Honda Clarity, as of the second quarter of 2018. What will happen now that the Chevy Volt has been discontinued? © 2020 MH Sub I, LLC. All Rights Reserved. © 2019 The Associated Press. This aligns with a longstanding headwind for electric vehicles and makers of compact cars, that most of the demand for new cars is for gas guzzling SUVs. The Volt … “Making a car company successful is monumentally difficult,” Musk said. GM Discontinues Chevrolet Volt, Impala, Other Cars in the U.S. What happens if the president doesn't accept the election results? The Volt was among the first plug-in hybrids, many of which can go only 20 or so miles on electricity and haven't gained much popularity among consumers. ", First published on February 22, 2019 / 6:11 PM. Winters had always wanted an electric car, but like many, was afraid he'd run out of juice and get stranded. Once these changes take effect, the Chevy Bolt EV will be the only vehicle in production under the brand’s “Electric” tab, and one of the announced closures includes a Baltimore, MD facility that produces electric motors, per a Green Car Reports report. The last Chevrolet Volt was built on Tuesday, ending a decade-long quest to make a breakthrough battery-powered car. Learn about other available electric vehicle options at GM Fleet Chevy Volt Electric Vehicle Discontinued Fleet Vehicle | GM Fleet GM now has the Chevrolet Bolt, which can go 238 miles on a single charge, and it has promised many more electric vehicles in the future. What will happen to GM's Voltec system now that the Chevy Volt has been discontinued? As always, remember that our Twitter polls are unscientific because of our low sample size and the fact that our audience is self-selected. Legal Statement. ... Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt … He bought his first Volt in 2016 for the 120-mile round-trip commute from home to the Arkansas hospital where he works. "I would not have an electric car if I did not have that gas engine.". “There have been many attempts to create a car company and they have all failed, even the ones that have had a strong base of customers.”. News provided by The Associated Press. A not insignificant 15 percent of our readers thought that someone will copy the technology and another 4 percent thought it might become ubiquitous. Privacy Policy. Even as GM made plans to close the factory that makes the Volt, as well as the compact sedan that underpins it, the Chevy Cruze, CEO Mary Barra was writing status blogs on LinkedIn about GM's commitment to electric cars. How do I vote in my state in the 2020 election? Battleground Tracker: Biden leads in Wisconsin, has edge in Arizona, A behind-the-scenes look at how mail-in ballots are processed. Outside of big EV markets like Los Angeles, the Chevy Bolt — GM's only EV after discontinuing the Volt — is almost invisible. ", CHECK OUT: GM wants Trump administration to consider national electric-vehicle mandate. Election Day could turn into "Election Week" with rise in mail ballots. Besides those, we offered two dark-horse possibilities: that some other automaker might pick up the system and use it in a different car, and that everyone will begin using it. See all 2 photos. However, the decision to completely remove a low-emissions option from Chevy’s primarily fossil-fuel burning lineup has been criticized as sending a “bit of a mixed message” by industry observers like Roadshow’s Tim Stevens. But because of GM's financial problems, the project was scaled back and became a modified version of the Chevrolet Cruze compact car with only four seats and many parts from other GM vehicles, he said. I agree to receive emails from Green Car Reports. Automotive giant General Motors’ massive reorganization and push to electrification is ironically shuttering production on one of its signature hybrids, the Chevy Volt.

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