GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre recently sat down with the Free Press and discussed many GM-related topics, including pricing of the much-anticipated Chevy Volt. Whitacre, who will soon step down as The General’s CEO, touted the Volt’s exclusive extended-range technology as well as the E-REV’s ability to utilize both, the engine-generator and the electric motor/battery pack to power the vehicle. Whitacre also threw a few punches at Nissan’s Leaf pure electric vehicle.
“[The Volt is] the only electric car you can drive across the country and never have to plug it in. It’s always on electricity. Nobody else can make that claim and nobody is going to be able to for awhile. It’s a new technology. The proof will be in the pudding and we’ll sell more of these things than we can produce. No other electric car can go coast to coast on electricity.
“So if you’re in a (Nissan) Leaf, when you get to 49 miles out, you better be thinking about heading home — and hoping there’s no hills.”
Read more of Ed Whitacre’s interview with the Freep at the source!
[Source: The Freep Press]
Comments
That is a blatant lie, I can’t believe he said that. I have now lost all respect for GM. If you drive across the country without plugging in then it’s ALL on gasoline, except for the first 40 miles.
Regarding the Leaf, there is another alternative to turning around and coming home when you hit 49 miles out, it’s called the FAST RECHARGE STATION …. you know, you plug your batteries into electricity and it charges them in 20 minutes? Same idea as a gas station, except with electricity…..
I don’t think he meant to say the part about “always on electricity” the way he did, mate.
But can you show me how many FAST RECHARGE STATIONS exist in the US right now? How about the world?
Needless to say, it’s not that many. That’s why the Volt is made the way it is. I think that it’s a transitional vehicle until we can have such fast recharge stations on every street corner, like gas stations today. Until then, you better be watching your range on a pure EV… and Whitacre’s right about that.
Nissan is partnering with cities to bring in thousands of them, within a year or two. They don’t need to be as ubiquitous as gas stations because EV drivers would rarely need one, only when they go further than their charge will allow. I don’t diss the Volt for being a series hybrid, I think it is a good transition and choice for those people that want it, I just don’t see the point of spreading false concerns about EV’s directed at Nissan, in order to further fuel the flames of public apprehension. His attacks are uncalled for.
Sure thing: GM could have made a pure EV ala Leaf, but it obviously believes that an EREV such as the Volt would be better suited for the current infrastructure, given its constraints.
Moreover, I’d wager that GM could modify the Volt to be a pure EV in a very short period of time… in fact, I’d be surprised if that’s not the plan in a year or two for the Volt.
As for Whitacre’s comments, they may be uncalled for – but you have to admit that at the time of launch, owners of pure EVs will experience a lot more range anxiety than owners of EREVs (Volt).
What do you think?
Alex Luft
Founder, GM Authority