Industry News
GM considers renting batteries to Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid buyers
13th August 2007
General Motors may reportedly allow buyers of its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car to rent the vehicle’s expensive battery as a way of pricing the vehicle at a comparable level to a similar size vehicle with a conventional powertrain when it is launched in 2010. The lithium-ion nanophosphate battery system being developed by GM with A123Systems is planned to give a battery-only range of around 40 miles and last for at least 10 years. The gasoline saved by the vehicle would release funds for battery rental, giving a similar overall running cost.
Repeated rumours suggest that Toyota is delaying the launch of its own plug-in hybrid technology with lithium-ion batteries, and a Toyota engineer, Justin Ward, is reported to have confirmed at last week’s Michigan Management Briefings that the company does not consider the technology ready for the automotive market.
However, Toyota has been developing nickel cobalt aluminium oxide li-ion technology, whereas GM (and the U.S. electric car maker and importer ZAP, with its Chinese battery supplier) are investing in nanophospate technology which they consider more robust and less prone to overheat.
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