General Motors has hit back at suggestions that the Chevrolet Volt is a hybrid and not a true electric vehicle.
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Just a month before the car goes on sale, US media critics, including Edmunds.com, Motor Trend and Popular Mechanics have said that during heavy acceleration the Volt uses its petrol engine to power an electric generator which helps turn the wheels, similar to how hybrids run.
GM retorted on its website that the car is an extended-range electric vehicle, not a hybrid like Toyota’s Prius.
This brings into focus the marketing challenge for automakers selling new technology in cars that don’t fit standard classifications and whose performance is difficult to measure.
GM has promoted the US$41,000 Volt as an electric vehicle to differentiate it from petrol-electric hybrid cars such as the Prius, adding that it will always run on electric power and average 230mpg.
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By GlobalDataThat figure has not been verified by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Popular Mechanics and Edmunds both wrote they consider the Volt a plug-in hybrid and not an electric vehicle.
However, a GM spokesman said the Volt always runs on electricity and has no mechanical link from the petrol engine to the wheels.
The car’s I4 engine powers a secondary electric motor, which turns the wheels, according to Tony Posawatz, the Volt’s vehicle line director, in an interview. The car’s petrol engine doesn’t directly power the wheels, he said.
Some analysts say, though, that consumers are unlikely to worry whether the Volt is a hybrid or electric car. Potential buyers will be more concerned with the car’s price, fuel savings and how far they can drive before needing to plug in or refuel.
