Chevy Volt Teaser Leaves Much to Imagination

General Motors releases a heavily camouflaged image of the next-generation Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle, which will bow without a disguise at January’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The image divulges little about the updated model, except for what appears to be a slightly different shape to the charge port just in front of the driver’s-side door. It is even difficult to determine the size of the wheels and tires, as well as the rubber supplier, because the Volt’s chief engineer, Andrew Farah, kneels strategically beside the car.

The image is the second Volt teaser from GM. In August, Global Chevrolet Chief Marketing Officer Tim Mahoney showed a glimpse of the rear of the car, but he was short on details.

“You’ll see improvements all the way across, from technology to design,” he said. “There will be more technology. We’re not going backwards.”

There is no shortage of speculation, however.

It is widely suspected the next-generation model will get a smaller internal-combustion engine/generator, perhaps the new 1.0L 3-cyl. mill under development at GM. Rumors say the sedan may grow from a 4-seater to a 5-passenger sedan, or GM might sell both sizes with different all-electric ranges.

There almost certainly will be an increase in all-electric range from the 38-mile (61-km) average the current model achieves. GM engineers have said the car uses a conservative amount of charge from its lithium-ion battery before the ICE comes on as a generator.

It might even become profitable. GM expected a sizable decrease in the cost of building the second-generation Volt as it gained knowledge and economies of scale. At the same time, it is expected to sticker for less than the $34,185 base price of a ’15 model.

Sales of the Volt could use the boost redesigns typically provide. U.S. deliveries through August are down 12.3% to 13,146 units, according to WardsAuto data. Last year, Volt sales dropped 1.6% to 23,094.

While adored by owners, the car has not lived up to initial sales expectations since hitting the market in late 2010 as an ’11 model and winning  the Detroit auto show’s 2011 North American Car of the Year award.

In 2012, GM CEO Dan Akerson called for an annual sales volume of 60,000 units once full production levels where achieved. So far, the car has accounted for 67,698 deliveries in the U.S., plus a handful of Opel Ampera sales in Europe.

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