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When the 2011 Chevrolet Volt rolls into dealerships later this year, the battery will have an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty, General Motors announced today.
The press conference was held at the Brownstown, Michigan, battery manufacturing plant where Tom Stephens, GM’s vice chairman of Global Product Operations, expressed his desire not just to be first with the Volt, but with three key technologies that may prove essential for alternative powertrain vehicles in the coming decade.
“We’re in a race and its one of the most important races in the industry,” Stephens said. “And if you know anything about me, I like to win races.”
Stephens and Micky Bly, GM’s executive director of Global Electrical Systems, want to lead the industry in the technology behind batteries, electric motors, and power controls. The three sectors represent the heart, muscle, and brains of the Volt, Bly explained. From mild hybrids to PHEVs like the Volt, these technologies will be crucial.
In other words, a fully electric vehicle like the Nissan Leaf may beat the Chevrolet Volt to the U.S. market, but GM is more concerned with leading the technology of those three areas. As for the Leaf, Nissan’s consumer site says warranty details have yet to be determined, but “will certainly be competitive.”
Bly continued by noting GM wants to bring the Volt to the market quickly, but also reliably. He noted the “uncomfortable [media] visibility” that began as early as October 31, 2007 when the first battery packs showed up.
As for those batteries covered by the eight-year/100,000-mile warranty, GM says 95 percent of the components were developed in-house. Battery production is slated to begin regular production in August.
Source: General Motors
I’m amazed that GM is offering this long of a warranty on its battery. It’s good that the company has this much confidence in its battery, but I don’t know if it will last that long. I want to see the full clauses of the warranty because lithium-ion batteries are very fickle.