Chevrolet Volt Shatters Fuel Efficiency Paradigm at 230 mpg

The Chevrolet Volt will get 230 miles per gallon in city driving. The Volt is a plug-in hybrid not yet on the market, which will mark a technological breakthrough if it achieves the projected fuel efficiency, “changing the game” as some observers see it on automotive transport and fuel usage. If realized, the 230 mpg standard will shatter the existing paradigm for automotive fuel efficiency.

The extremely high rate of fuel efficiency is owing in part to the Volt’s ability to run only electric up to 40 miles, before the gas-electric hybrid feature kicks in. At that point, it would achieve 230 mpg in city driving, and is expected to surpass 100 mpg highway. The car would be able to travel from New York City to Washingon, DC, on just 2 to 4 gallons of gas.

The “plug-in hybrid” is a new direction in electric automotive vehicle technology, allowing for a more powerful battery to further reduce the amount of gasoline required to power the vehicle. The plug-in feature means the battery can be charged independently of the gasoline hybrid engine recharging the battery. This helps sideline the gasoline drive and shift the burden toward the electric power contained in the battery.

The 230 mpg threshold is, at present, a prediction. Advanced battery technologies and better miniaturization and structural design improvements between now and the initial release date for the first or second generations could raise the mileage still further. And Chevy may see incentive to do so, as Nissan has responded by claiming that its LEAF model EV (all-electric) will get 367 mpg.

Nissan’s claim is bold, and the first major problem with it is that the LEAF is an electric car, not a hybrid. Nissan even boasts that it requires no tailpipe and no gasoline. Which raises the question: how can it get 367 mpg, if it doesn’t use gallons of gasoline at all? It’s a tricky bit of mathematic posturing, and meant to be a selling point. In fact, the Volt will go 40 miles battery-only and another 300 running in hybrid mode, while the LEAF will go 100 miles on one charge, but has no gasoline back-up.

Fritz Henderson, CEO of GM, has said “From the data we’ve seen, many Chevy Volt drivers may be able to be in pure electric mode on a daily basis without having to use any gas“. A Dept. of Transportation study found that 8 of 10 American drivers travel fewer than 40 miles per day, meaning the Volt could operate entirely on battery power for their commute. That range could be extended to 80 miles if there is a reliable charge-point at their furthest destination.

The most important ripple effect of the Volt project is bound to be within the field of hybrid automotive vehicles. The Toyota Prius, for instance, considered the industry pioneer in high fuel-efficiency gas-electric hybrid technology, gets only 68 miles per gallon. New battery technologies and more efficient hybridization processes can, it seems, boost fuel efficiency far beyond the levels we know from the Prius.

The Volt concept may actually extend the life of hybrid drives, due to the possibility that a gas-electric drive system will extend range and reduce cost of use. But there are bold paradigm-shift electric vehicles being built by Tesla Motors, of California, right now. The Tesla Roadster, expected to be on the market in 2012, would have a range of 244 miles, be twice as “fuel-efficient” (the Tesla Roadster is all-electric) as a Prius, and would go 0-60 in just 3.9 seconds.

But the Tesla Roadster, by far the highest-performance electric car ever built for mass consumption, is projected to carry a price-tag of $101,500, before rebates and tax credits. This means the Volt is a major resource for GM, putting Chevrolet in the thick of the next generation of green vehicles. Tesla’s answer would be the Model S, which would go 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, fit 5 adults and 2 children, and cost a projected $49,900, putting it closer to the Volt’s market.

What is clear is that the American electric automotive industry has been greatly empowered by government investment aimed at overhauling the national energy economy and speeding innovation in the automotive sector. Both GM and Tesla were recipients of part of the $8 billion in government investments for new electric and hybrid vehicle technologies.