Late last week, comments made by GM CEO Rick Wagoner spurred speculation that the automaker might miss its much-touted 2010 production target for the 100 mpg plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt. But a new blog posting by Vice Chairman Bob Lutz confirms the 2010 timeframe is still very much alive.
“This program remains a top commitment to the company, and we are holding tight to our 2010 deadline,” wrote Lutz. The top executive seems to have made the statement in order to quell speculation the Volt was falling behind schedule.
Chief executive Rick Wagoner made the remarks that started the debate, saying the launch date for the Volt was “fluid” and the company “can’t guarantee” a 2010 launch.
Lutz remains confident about the challenging development process. “While 2007 was a big year for the Volt, we expect 2008 to be even bigger,” he wrote on the company’s corporate blog. “As each day passes, our confidence and understanding of the battery technology necessary for the Volt to go into production grows.”
He said the firs two months of testing for the car’s batter technology have gone well, with some “very encouraging” results.
The batteries will soon leave the lab be tested on the road in prototype vehicles, Lutz said. “There’s no way we can predict how these batteries will perform over 10 years based on only two months of testing, but I can assure you, there will be a point in time when we have the full confidence that our solution will reach this goal.”
