Buyers are still paying a premium for the $40,000 Volt, which is the equivalent of a $20,000 compact car. Chevrolet sold 1,519 Volts in November.
General Motors said today that Chevrolet Volt owners collectively have driven more than 100 million all-electric miles since the hybrid went on sale two years ago this month. The average Volt owner travels more than 65% of the time in pure electric mode, using the gasoline-engine generator for longer trips.
For the first 38 miles, the Volt can drive using a full charge of electricity stored in its 16.5-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt’s battery runs low, a gasoline engine/generator can increase the driving range another 344 miles on a full tank.
GM calculates that Volt owners drive approximately 900 miles, or a month and a half, between fill-ups based on an EPA-estimated 98 MPGe that puts electric-only range at 35 mpg city and 40 mpg on the highway.
Fewer trips to the gas station mean Volt drivers continue to save money on the $40,000 four-seat car. Based on EPA estimates owners are saving about $1,370 a year in fuel costs. So GM estimates that The 5 million gallons of gasoline have been saved, equivalent to $21 million in gasoline costs averted overall based on $4 per gallon of premium, or more than two supertankers of gas. (Read Chevrolet Volt Leads New Owner Satisfaction Report. Again)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
