Volt Range Gains Incremental But Meaningful, GM Says
Three miles farther makes for a particularly significant improvement among commuters traveling less than 40 miles per day, the target customer for the Volt, chief engineer Andrew Farah says.
General Motors says the ’13 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle now will travel three miles (4.8 km) farther in EV mode, admitting the improvement represents an “incremental” gain but one its enthusiasts clamored for the most.
“The No.1 thing our customers have been telling us is more is better in this particular case,” says Andrew Farah, chief engineer of the Volt.
“It is incremental,” he tells WardsAuto during a conference call today to discuss changes to the Volt for ’13. “But it’s still in the right direction.”
The ’13 Volt will drive an average 38 miles (61.2 km) on a single charge, whereas the current model travels 35 miles (56.3 km).
Three more miles makes for a particularly significant improvement among commuters traveling less than 40 miles (64.4 km) per day, the target customer for the Volt, Farah says.
“It will enable another number of people to go gasoline-free in their daily driving,” he says, adding the increased range still may not make the Volt a sensible choice for those traveling long distances each day.