Last year, reports indicated General Motors planned to pull the plug on the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. The latest information suggests the Volt isn’t going anywhere, however.
Automotive News reported Monday that the Volt will not die, but if it does, it will be in body style only. The Volt will enter showrooms for 2019 with updated charging technology for quicker charging times, but a redesign will happen in the early 2020s. It’s at that time the Volt could potentially morph into a plug-in hybrid crossover vehicle and ditch its hatchback body style.
We previously argued a switch to a crossover style for the Volt would only do good things for the plug-in car, though the hatchback is pretty darn handy as it sits.
Aside from the Volt’s new lease on life, Chevrolet may also plan for a new battery-electric crossover to debut in 2021. The CUV will reportedly be close in size to the Equinox and may have even once been a Buick. The latter has reportedly put its electric-car plans on hold as GM works through inevitably losing its federal tax credits for electric cars, perhaps as soon as this year.
We also heard Chevrolet showed a battery-electric performance vehicle to its dealerships earlier this year, too.
Comments
“Automotive News reported Monday that the Volt will not die, but if it does, it will be in body style only.”
In other words, the same news as before, in a new article format. Everyone, including GM to shareholders, acknowledged a Voltec CUV previously was coming. Calling it anything other than Volt / Volt SUV would be silly – particularly if the sedan is discontinued.
The Volt is a fine automobile. It was thought of as a pioneering effort back in 2011 but with Karma gone, or in hiding, the Volt is a standalone masterpiece for the time being. We have owned two, a 12 and a 17. Our 19 WITH POWER DRIVER’S SEAT is on order. This translates to 1. Meeting all expectations, and 2. I’ll be able to enter the car after my wife’s turn at driving.
Should’ve been out already, before the Bolt as a transition to EVs.
Have a 2017 with 19,000 miles on it now. On third tank of gas. I love this car. Chevy might sell more if they actually tried to market and promote it.
If the Volt will be a crossover, that will make place for a plugin Cruze.
My thoughts exactly! Where are the true Model 3 and Model S competitors? Chevy Bolt is ok but not really a competitor for Tesla in my mind.
Not yet from GM, but hope to see a true competition from GM that go globally.
4300 so far on 1st tank of gas… :):):):):)
Wish they would hurry up and bring it as I had to revert to doing it myself – sort of. I lifted our 13 Volt 2inches at the springs and another inch with 2′ bigger tires to better deal with everyday life (dirt roads) here in central AZ. Obviously the CG is higher but still handles well enough. Around town range seems to be about the same, biggest change is the regen effect with 8 pound heavier rotating mass mostly from using heavier wheels ( gotta love them OEM forged wheels).
I love my gen2 Volt and consider its powertrain to be an engineering masterpiece. The marriage of the ICE and electric motors is virtually seamless and totally smooth, even when the engine is at max RPM the NVH is astonishingly well isolated.
The interior of the car is just fantastic, with the *perfect* balance of push button controls and touchscreen functions. The dash is far better than my ATS with all it’s goofy touch controls and the abominable CUE touchscreen. Seriously, GM should put those responsible for the Volt’s interior in charge of interior design for ALL GM vehicles.
I only have a few complaints, and all but the first are quite subjective (list is in case the Volt team reads these pages):
1. The rear hatch sill is too high, so if the car is dirty then it’s virtually impossible to load/unload groceries without getting my clothing dirty. Heavy items are also a pain to load/unload.
2. Tire noise is a bit high, but I understand weight is a priority. Maybe quieter tires could come standard.
3. Front seats have insufficient lumbar support, and no upgrade option for better seats.
4. Despite the low center of gravity, handling is only average. I wish Chevy offered an SS version with sport suspension tuning. It’s also kind of cheap to use a torsion beam rear suspension on such an expensive car, but that could be due to packaging constraints.
I give the Styling a B+: the taillight treatment doesn’t match the car’s wedge-shape theme, and the fake front grill is unoriginal. But the Volt is still sexier than 85% of the other cars on the road!
I wish they’d just discontinue it rather than have it end its run as another dumpy bloated crossover that looks like all the others, and remember fondly how it was nice to be able to drive an electric car not made for someone’s Mom for a while.
Love my ‘17 Volt but they need to ditch the extra cheap plastic in future models. 25k miles (& only 7 tanks of gas) & the car has developed the kind of squeaks one would expect from a $10,000 car. And the bad blind spots MUST be fixed. I’ve gotten used to them somewhat but when my wife or daughter drive it they’ve come dangerously close to hitting pedestrians & cross traffic that was invisible. As for ease of entry, I too am 6’ tall but due to spinal surgery I can’t flex my head so it’s a slow, deliberate process that works for me.
I do love the hatchback design as I’ve put stuff in the back that shock onlookers—such as a 65” tv in the box recently, though I did have to bungee cord the hatch. Will definitely lease another when mine is up if they still make it.