GM plans upgrade of Volt upon release
February 12, 2009 by Matt Brogan
GM plans to upgrade its upcoming battery-powered Chevrolet Volt once it launches the vehicle late next year – faster than it could overhaul any conventional vehicle.
Frank Weber, GM’s global vehicle line executive for the Volt, said the technology behind the all-electric Volt will allow GM to drive improvements to future versions far more quickly after the battery-powered car goes on sale in 2010.
“This is almost like getting software updates into your car,” Weber said. “This is not a mechanical world. So, even within a vehicle lifecycle you will see updates that are very significant.”
The company has not said when it expects to roll out the second generation of the vehicle, but plans to focus on cutting the size and cost of the battery as a top priority. The 181kg T-shaped battery pack is expected to be the Volt’s most expensive and most important component. The cells for the battery will be manufactured by Korea’s LG Chem.
Weber said GM engineers are not focused on extending the vehicle’s range (currently 64km) as the prescribed distance is seen as the longest most people would drive the car on a daily basis.
GM plans to build about 10,000 Volts in the first year of production and eventually push annual output to about 60,000. The car’s battery can be recharged at a standard electric outlet.
The manufacturer does not expect to make money on the first generation of the Volt, making its subsequent launches more important for the struggling automaker.
Print it: 
Cripes – here we go the Ex-spurts have all come out, crying about possibly having to drive an electric car for twenty minutes a day.
Bring on the electric car hopefully it will persuade the OPEC knobs that their oil ain’t worth what they think it is.
I’d buy one tomorrow for the family city run-around and keep the derv burrner for the long trips.
Steam coming out of bus tail pipes, that does sound kinda cool :)
Expert Cupid? Ex sounds like a “has been” and spert is a drip under pressure :)
I’d buy one tomorrow too, just to ensure Opec build less gold palaces with their oil revenue!!
Who knows, 30 years from now the volt will probably be fart powered. Behold the bio-volt, gets 100kms out of a single curry…fantastic!
Obviously The Nano is fart powered, eliminating Indias reliance on imported oil.
Here’s a crackpot idea……What if they fitted small wind power generators, to the front of the car which charged the battery while you drove extending the distance?
(Imagine tubes bout an Inch or so wide, long enough with a fan inside it fitted through the grill)
Would that be feasible??
Jez, that would be pretty much on the verge of perpetual motion concept lol! So no, it wouldn’t work.