Reuss: Volt Would Benefit From A Customized Architecture
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In speaking about a bevy of topics during press conferences and interviews galore last week, General Motors President of North America Mark Reuss said that the automaker would benefit if it customized a vehicle platform for the Chevy Volt, rather than repurposing an existing platform.
Currently, the Volt rides on the Delta platform shared with Chevy Cruze and Opel Astra/Buick Verano, but has distinct styling inside and out while cradling a battery back running the length of the vehicle. And even though we’re having a tough time understanding whether “customizing” a platform for the Volt would entail making significant modifications to an existing architecture or building a new one from the ground up, we can only assume that the current Volt would benefit from being larger (in size) than it is today, as a bigger vehicle could (more adequately) justify a higher price point; the 2013 Volt retails for roughly $40,000 before rebates.
The news comes on the heels of Reuss’ other comments, including GM’s desire to decrease the price of the next-generation Volt by “thousands”, along with changes in the strategy of globalizing the Chevrolet brand, and the executive’s thoughts on autonomous vehicles, among other topics.
General Motors is currently hard at work on the next-generation of its vehicle platforms, including the D2XX (successor to Delta) and E2XX (successor to Epsilon). The automaker has not announced which architecture it is planning to use for the next-generation Chevy Volt.
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I was kind of hoping they’d keep up with the Greek lettering scheme for the unibody platforms. But I completely see your point about the volt being on a dedicated architecture. The fact of the matter is that it doesn’t utilize the Delta platform very well…
just put it on Epsilon
This is a no brainer.
To control cost with the low volume the Delta was employed plain and simple.
The Volt could be packaged much better and better all around with a dedicated platform. Lighter material etc would all be in play. The issue is till there is higher volumes this car will have to wait for this to happen.
The 2nd gen Volt will have the advantage that the Delta 2XX will be more designed from the start t deal with the needs of the car.
If they ever do a platform only for the Voltec I would call it Zeus.
Sounds like a good idea but, wouldn’t designing and building a single use platform increase the cost of the volt?
By customized does he mean more options for the Volt system… Meaning an architecture that can be made for a variety of vehicles. This would make more sense to me… The more vehicles offered with varied functionalities ect…
I say put on epsilon Because the Prius is based on a modules car platform that underpins the Camry and corolla
Here is what they are talking about. The Skateboard.
http://www.adrianchernoff.com/pages/AUTOnomy.html
Flat platform for the battery pack like Tesla.
http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/safety_battery.jpg
It’s funny when Mr. Ruess gets chatting, because the giant, collective response
to his ascertion is “NO KIDDING!”…. Oddly, little Tesla of Silicon Valley seems
to be driving the innovation of anything with an electric motor. Model S’s
“skateboard” setup is the perfect platform to stretch or shrink depending upon
the needs of the vehicle it underpins.
Any proprietary architecture ( such as the GM skateboard concept ) would
have lower center of gravity, higher utilization of interior space and a
greater opportunity for lightness. Costs would have to be spread out over
Caddilac and Buick versions and several body styles, as in CUV, coupe
wagon, midsize and compace sedans.
Volt shows the Voltec drive system to be hardy and user-friendly. Now
take the next step GM, and shoot for the stars.
James — it would seem that the best move for a business that cares to remain profitable is to “take the next step” when the market is ripe for such a product. As you know, real-world demand for any electric vehicle (including those by Tesla) is currently extremely low… that’s rather unfortunate, but I’m sure it’s something that will pick up over time. That’s when we’ll see pretty much everyone jump on the electric bandwagon.
The Electric car market is being created step by step.
Tesla may have some momentum but they are far from out of the woods yet. THey are a company that may make 20,000 cars this year and whille very good for an upstart they could get trounced with one mistake or issue.
GM is growing the market and will advance it in steps.
The key to all of this is better batties. If you want to rule the world cure cancer or create a better battery and the world will be at your feet.
Tesla is ham strung till they have a battery that charges in minutes and not 15 hours or more. GM has worked around this with ICE in the Volt to keep the appeal to real world drivers. Even then both are hurting on price for now.
A good slow growth of this segment is the best that can be expected untill we have some major break throughs.
Many are now looking to the hydrogen cars but the lack of filling stations and the slow fill times will hamper them. I have driven the GM Hydrogen vehicle and it is amazing. I loved everything but the slow fill time and the ability to fill just anywhere. They can bring the cost down in time but others will have to invest in filling stations and better cryo pumps.