EV Engineering News

2013 Chevrolet Volt boasts a better battery and better range

GM announced this week that the all-electric range of the 2013 Volt will be 38 miles on a single charge, a three-mile increase from the 2012 model.

 

The increase may not be as impressive as what the Moore’s Law-driven semiconductor industry is used to, but the third model year of the Chevy Volt will offer an improvement in efficiency and range. GM announced this week that the all-electric range of the 2013 Volt will be 38 miles on a single charge, a three-mile increase from the 2012 model. The miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) will increase from 94 miles to 98 miles.

GM engineers made minor changes to the battery cell chemistry, resulting in improved performance and durability. Storage capacity has been increased from 16 kWh to 16.5 kWh, and engineers have expanded the state-of-charge window to use 10.8 kWh of the total battery energy – in other words, the size of the buffer that the system maintains to protect battery life has been reduced. The improved range will result in a slight increase to the Volt’s charge time – about 4.25 hours at 240 volts.

“The best way to explain what we’ve done at the cell level is to compare it to a cake batter recipe.  Sometimes if you use more sugar and less vanilla you get a better tasting cake. We’ve done some work at the cell level to modify the ‘ingredients’ to make a better end result,” said Bill Wallace, GM director of Global Battery Systems Engineering. “This attention to detail will allow our customers to experience more pure EV range, which is the true benefit of owning a Volt.”

 

Source: GM
Image: GM

Comment
Create Account. Already Registered? Log In

Virtual Conference on EV Engineering: Free to Attend

Don't miss our next Virtual Conference on April 15-18, 2024. Register for the free webinar sessions below and reserve your spot to watch them live or on-demand.

LOAD MORE SESSIONS

EV Engineering Webinars & Whitepapers

EV Tech Explained