How Chevy Volt Gets 230 MPG
Automotive news sources across the web are reporting on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt’s amazing “230 Miles Per Gallon” rating announced today. So, just how true is it? The “230″ Chevy Volt campaign started with the ominous number 23 next to an electrical outlet ads – which we now know translates to 230, as in MPG. CEO Fritz Henderson discussed the new under development method of rating plug-in hybrids by the EPA, which leads GM to expect a 230-mpg.
The Volt’s 230-mpg city fuel economy estimate by Henderson is only an assumption right now, as the CEO states: “GM is not over-promising on the numbers.” The EPA’s new system weights vehicle ratings based on the expectation that they will travel more city miles than highway miles on electricity only. To define the electrical efficiency of plug-ins, the EPA calculates the kilowatt hours used per 100 miles traveled. General Motors 2011′s Volt, which travels up to 40 miles using only electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, to use as little as 25 kilowatt hours per 100 miles in the city. Using a national average of about 11 cents per kWh, GM anticipates the average Volt customer would pay about $2.75 for electricity to travel up to 100 miles.
Basically, it’s all one big math problem and guessing game. Good Luck Chevy! Now you’ve got a lot to live up to.
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