How GM is Making Electric Vehicles Relevant
Editor’s Note: Frank Weber is the Global Electric Vehicle Development Executive for General Motors. Here he discusses the Chevy Volt and the future of transportation. This post was written for Gas 2.0 and reposted at the GM FastLane Blog.
A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak at EVS 24 in Norway about extended-range electric vehicles (E-REVs). Attendees and presenters were some of the brightest minds from around the world working to make electric vehicles an everyday reality, but frankly, I sensed many of those minds think electric vehicle development is better suited to small, entrepreneurial companies, some with little or no automotive experience.
There seems to be in the minds of many some sort of inherent conflict between being a large, traditional automaker and the ability to develop cars of the future.
I couldn’t disagree more with that sentiment, and GM is on a mission to prove it.
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Developing electric vehicles is no longer a nice little “green” story; it’s absolutely crucial if we are to alleviate our dependence on petroleum. Electric vehicles aren’t simply for niche markets; they are the future of a sustainable global automotive industry.
There are nearly 1 billion vehicles using petroleum on the road today. If we are going to make a difference in reducing our dependence on petroleum, GM and other automakers must offer large volume production solutions. Hand-built vehicles may capture the imagination of some, but we need millions of cars to truly address this global issue.
At GM, we have a level of product research, testing and development as well as a supplier network that is unmatched. When you consider the very real distribution, volume and quality issues some of the smaller start-ups have experienced, it’s hard for me to see how they are better equipped than us to deliver the volumes necessary for real change.
But the real key to making electric vehicles a success is to make them relevant for consumers.
Customers expect more out of their vehicles than ever before, so a relevant EV must be capable of being your primary vehicle. Although it would be nice to have a commuter car for the daily drive to work, a family hauler for recreational activities and a roadster to go cruising whenever the urge strikes, very few people have their own fleet of purpose-built vehicles – nor should they for environmental reasons!
We realize that some people can get by with just one of these choices, but we’d rather you didn’t have to settle.
Continue reading and see gallery on Page 2:
I want an affordable American made electric car. The problem is China’s state directed capitalism will probably make everything but the American part available to me faster. Overpaid American CEO’s don’t have the intelligence and innovative capabilities to respond as quickly to the consumer.
Levi,
GM destroyed the EV1’s for a reason. Are you really going to buy an electric vehicle for 6 figures? What about maintenance? Also, the size of the batteries only enabled the vehicle to be a 2-door.
Today, thanks to GM’s R&D, they have made the batteries more efficient and smaller, as well as more affordable for the consumer.
Some quick clarifications:
Levi and Jerry: As Frank details, the Volt overcomes the limitations of the EV1, mainly range anxiety, and is a no compromise electric vehicle. I think it’s also safe to say Chris Paine is a big fan of the Volt and that will come through when his next movie is released. And remember, we may have made mistakes with the EV1, but we were still the first automaker to bring a production electric vehicle to market. Also, working with SAE, we expect to have a common standard for the charge cord receptacle in place in North America by the end of the summer to alleviate proprietary cords between the major automakers.
Jack Johnston: The architecture the Volt is built on is flexible to accomodate a hydrogen fuel source. In fact, we have the largest fuel cell demonstration project on the roads right now in the hands of real people with Project Driveway. As you mentioned, infrastructure is a big issue for all hydrogen powered vehicles, and with the Volt, public charging infrastructure must be addressed. But as well with the Volt, you can fill-up at any fueling station when you can’t recharge, so the infrastructure is already in place.
Bill: The Volt compares to a plasma TV when referring to its impact on the electrical grid, and we’re also anticipating most owners will charge their Volt overnight when rates and load levels are down.
I wish more people would talk about the chemicals that make up these batteries. Lithium is not a pleasant chemical and as far as I have heard it isn’t easy to dispose of these battereies or recyle them. Am I wrong? How long until we have a landfill problem with leaking lithium? Is that better than a CO2 problem?
Agree with Levi and Jerry. Although, Jerry, he does mention the EV1 here in page 2: “If our experience with the EV1 taught us anything, it’s that customers love driving electric so much that they want to be able to plug-in wherever they go, and with both 120v and 240v capability, they will.” In the movie “Who Killed the Electric Car?” GM says there was no/not enough demand to continue making the electric vehicle. Although the film depicted a number of people who petitioned and fought for GM to continue making the EV1, for a company of GM’s scale, it’s dubious as to whether this was “enough” demand. In either case, it appears GM is equivocating.
The electric showroom vehicle that GM has had for years is a straight up marketing gimmick. Not only is this featured in the movie, but a friend of mine who also worked on a project with GM addressed the potential of mass producing the showroom car. The GM exec’s response to her was that it was possible, but openly said the car for for marketing only.
If Frank Weber can provide a response about the company’s past EV endeavors that commenters are bringing up HERE, in the comments section where the regular consumers are, then I will think GM is actually listening to the demand of consumers. Otherwise I will continue to believe GM is greenwashing as Levi said.
This is an easy test, GM. Let’s see if you are actually interacting with and listening to your target market.
It frustrates me when I see people knock a type of electric car technology over another. The whole point is really just to get the technology out there and being used. It doesnt matter what brand or underlying tech is used, the important thing is numbers. Get the numbers up and then it becomes economical to start providing public charging infrastructure.
Secondly we all want the full electric car but the technology is just not there at the moment to take us all the way. This is where the range extended vehicles come in. They give us a chance to start using the technology and to see what works and what doesn’t and to improve the technology over time.
Dont think of the petrol motor as a cop out, think of it as a place holder for more advanced battery power. I think of it as a way of getting the electric car into mass production earlier than it might have been.
It really is a long term commitment to a full electric car because as the technology improves and is refined, the range on electricity only will steadily grow and the public charging infrastructure will grow until the petrol motor is basically a dead weight and can be removed.
Seems we needed these cars 30+ years ago. Unions, Oil and greed have kept us driving basically the same design for the last 100+ years. Will it change? Now that government control has stretched into the auto industry, what can really be expected?
Its time to believe in Detroit, its time to believe in GM. While the country certainly can’t bare the burden of a failing auto industry, they can certainly ride on their wheels to success. Here’s to hope, and here’s to dreams of an innovative and successful GM.
I think the Volt’s a good start. It’s not out yet and the pure electric Tesla Roadster is, plus they’ve revealed a mid-sized, more mainstream project, and the intend of the third project being very mainstream so I find it lame to insult companies like that as small when GM does not have anything out now.
The concept of the Volt is great though. A modest distance electric and a gas back-motor for long distance, but it is just a half-way solution.
It’s all about battery design. Once the designs in the labs now that double and triple what the Lith Ion batteries do now…. there will be no need for anything but pure electric.
No doubt Tesla owners will retro their cars to gain trunk space and lower weight when that happens and the Volt with turn into a pure electric.
Rent a gas car if you’re going cross-country for the rare few who do. The rest can be electric.
The thing with the Volt though is that it’s not a great looking car. The show version was cool. Both of Tesla’s are cool.
The technology inside the Volt could go in ANY car and should go in most new cars cars now.
Having been a 70+ MPG hybrid owner since 2000, I have a little experience with squeezing the most out of limited resources (fuel and money). I do hope GM succeeds with the Volt as I would like to be able to upgrade to a 4 door vehicle in the future, but I wonder about a few things:
1) vehicle quality/fit and finish. GM hasn’t been a leader in this area as long as I have bought vehicles (20+ years), and with cost reductions it brings up additional concerns.
2) Why did GM decide to spend money to develop their own battery production facility? Since they are just getting their feet wet in this propitiatory technology and it’s still unclear how the public will accept the Volt or other EREVs, if it doesn’t take off immediately, everything is dependent on a single battery production plant. The entire EREV line will be dead in the water if anything should happen. Why didn’t they just partner with or outsource the batteries from an existing/established/high volume battery manufacturer? Is it the NIH syndrome that almost killed IBM and HP all over again?
3) Will GM only offer the Volt for lease? This was one of the most stupid things GM did with the EV1. It’s almost like they planned to kill it off from the beginning. I won’t rant on about the EV1, the “Who killed the Electric Car” movie does that well enough.
4) Frank mentions their other EREVs, but other than the Opel, I haven’t heard of anything else that’s planned or announced. Maybe I have missed something here, but perhaps GM should learn to walk before they run, especially if they’re doing it with my tax dollars bailing them out for making bad decisions since they haven’t released or sold a single EREV yet.
5) I hope that they will look into making the ICE and the battery modular and/or upgradeable, even if it’s not announced/advertised as such. That way a new, higher capacity battery or smaller gas or better yet, bio/diesel ICE could be swapped/upgraded for increased efficiency. After all, wasn’t the Volt built on a platform that touted modularity (remember the skateboard concept from a few years ago?)