Chevy Premieres All-new Propulsion System for 2016 Chevrolet Volt

2016 chevy volt

The Bowtie brand recently provided a peek beneath the skin of the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt, providing an image of its equally new Voltec propulsion system. Which, as a reminder, includes both a battery pack/electric motor and a high-efficiency gas-powered engine that acts as a range extender.

Now, at this stage, Chevy hasn't provided any specific details about the range of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt, but here's a hint from Larry Nitz, executive director of the electrification engineering team at GM Powertrain: “It would have been simple for us to tweak our existing battery to provide nominally increased range, but that’s not what our customers want. So our team created a new battery system that will exceed the performance expectations of most of our owners.”

Also, there is an obvious benchmark for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt: the performance of the 2015 model. That vehicle, per the EPA, can deliver an all-electric driving range of 38 miles, backed by another 342 miles of range from an onboard gas engine that enables 37 mpg in combined driving. Helping to best that baseline, Chevy has further revealed that the engineers have reduced the number of individual battery cells in each pack from 288 to 192, reduced the weight of the battery pack by nearly 30 lbs., and re-positioned it for improved driving dynamics in the 2016 Chevrolet Volt.

Engineers for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt further enhanced its propulsion system by:

• Improving the efficiency of its two-motor drive unit by about 5 to 12 percent, while reducing its weight by 100 lbs.
• Boosting performance of that drive, with owners of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt enjoying a 20 percent improvement in electric acceleration
• Reducing the amount of rare-earth materials used in those motors, with one motor completely free of such elements
• Introducing a brand-new 1.5-liter, four-cylinder range-extending gas engine that will run on regular unleaded fuel

Added Alan Batey, head of global Chevrolet: “Our Volt owners truly love the EV driving experience, with more than 80 percent of all trips being completed without using any gasoline. ... By putting our Volt owners at the center of what we do and leveraging our electrification engineering leadership, we’ve been able to raise the bar and will exceed their expectations with the new Volt.”