At the LA Auto Show, General Motors announced that California will be the first market where Chevrolet Volts will be sold. The company said sales will begin “late next year,” with the initial Volts sold to both consumers and utility fleets. GM said that other initial Volt markets will be announced in the coming weeks.
 
In his keynote address, GM Vice Chairman for Marketing and Communications Bob Lutz (filling in for former CEO Fritz Henderson, who resigned the day before) gave some more insight to the company’s plan for rolling out the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. Lutz said that it will be a slow rollout, with a planned 8,000 to 10,000 units planned for the 2011 calendar year. After that, the company would like to ramp up its production to its full capacity of 50,000 to 60,000 units per year.
 
As part of its plan to introduce the Volt in California, GM has partnered with several utilities in the state to produce charging stations. They include Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, as well as the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
 
Among the first Volts will be about a 100 cars that will go to these partner companies for fleet use. Lutz did make it clear that the Volt will also be available for retail sales, as well.
 
At the show, GM shared and restated a few other Volt details of note:

• If their cars are plugged in, Volt owners will be able to remotely set them to begin charging or stop charging via OnStar, based on time of day, electric rates, or other parameters.
• The cars will have visual and audible indications if they are charging.
• The climate control system will have three modes to minimize drain on the battery and keep the cabin comfortable.
• A digital “Efficiency Meter” in the dashboard will help drivers monitor their electric range and maximize fuel efficiency.
• A green leaf button on the dashboard will call up information on battery efficiency, state of charge, and energy flow.

Lutz said that getting charging stations into public parking structures and on city streets was critical for widespread acceptance of plug-in cars. He specifically noted the need to integrate charging stations into parking meters for use by urban drivers. EV owners could swipe a credit card to pay for the charge while they are parked. He also said that if gas prices stay relatively low, the government may need to gradually increase federal taxation on petroleum fuel to help stimulate EV sales.
 
The Volt’s battery, Lutz added, is designed for a life of 10 years or 100,000 miles, and that replacing it could cost about the same as an engine overhaul for conventional cars. Help in mitigating this cost could come from a secondary-use market (for use in applications that don’t demand daily cycling), in which he estimated that lithium-ion battery packs could retain about half of their original value. GM will begin production of the Volt’s lithium-ion battery packs in Michigan next month.
 
Rolling out the Volt first in California with its mild climate and environmental awareness makes sense. We hope it won’t be too long before consumers in other parts of the country can buy one, too. Including us.

See our complete 2009 LA Auto Show coverage. 
 
—Rik Paul and Eric Evarts