http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/04/15/bolt-volt-chevrolet-name-mahoney-electric/25813977/ 'Bolt' name is a keeper, says Chevy marketing boss James R. Healey April 15, 2015
[image] 2015 Chevrolet Bolt EV Concept all electric vehicle – front ex (Photo: Luke Ray) ARLINGTON, Va. — Calling Chevrolet's next electric car Bolt [EV] is a terrific idea, says marketing boss Tim Mahoney, even if it is almost indistinguishable from the Volt [pih] name that Chevy already uses for an extended-range electric on sale now. Mahoney says he approved the Bolt name, and said, "The decision is made. The name won't be changed." Some reports have said a change has been discussed to avoid confusion between the coming Bolt and the bigger, higher-price Chevy Volt now on sale. But those reports are wrong; Bolt's a keeper, Mahoney said. Mahoney made his comments in an interview with USA TODAY after speaking Tuesday to the Washington Automotive Press Association here about a variety of Chevrolet models and how they are marketed globally. He said there are "synergies" between the sound-alike names, and the image association between Bolt and Volt "connotes good things." Potential confusion between the names "can be an advantage," Mahoney said, and the Bolt name "association with Chevrolet is nearly immediate," partly because the Volt now is a well-known Chevy. Noting that "anybody can do one study and get it to say what they want," he said Chevrolet did two studies trying out the Bolt name on potential buyers and, "Same result, it did well." Volt is loosely based on the Chevy Cruze compact sedan and is what Chevrolet parent General Motors calls an extended-range electric car. Volt will go roughly 40 miles in battery-only mode. If there's no place to stop and recharge, the car triggers an on-board gasoline engine that runs a generator to begin recharging the batteries on the move for continuous electric operation. BMW adopted that approach for its battery i3, offering an option BMW motorcycle engine for on-board recharging. The Volt's gas engine, in certain circumstances that Chevy says seldom occur, can drive the Volt directly, bypassing the electric system. Because of that, some purists have said Volt should properly be called a gas-electric hybrid, not an electric car. A redesigned Volt is coming as a 2016 model. Bolt is a pure battery car. A subcompact, it will go 200 miles on a charge and be priced about $30,000, Chevy says. GM is hoping to pre-empt any moves by electric automaker Tesla to invade the mainstream EV market with future vehicles that are lower-price than its current luxury models, while retaining Tesla's long-range capabilities. Currently Tesla sells only high-price electrics, starting at $76,200. The company's chief, Elon Musk, promises a vehicle in the $30,000 range soon. Chevrolet says it will invest $200 million to retool its Orion Assembly facility near Detroit to build Bolt, but hasn't announced a schedule. GM showed a Bolt concept car at the Detroit auto show in January, and announced at the Chicago show in February that it will put Bolt into production, a blazing-fast decision — assuming GM hadn't already decided to build Bolt before showing the concept. GM North America President Alan Batey said at the Chicago show that the automaker is "moving quickly because of (Bolt's) potential to completely shake up the status quo for electric vehicles." He said it will use battery technology from Volt and from the Spark EV, a pure battery car that Chevy sells in California, Oregon and Maryland ... [© usatoday.com] http://seekingalpha.com/news/2422986-gm-engineers-give-confident-update-on-bolt-ev-progress GM engineers give confident update on Bolt EV progress Apr 13 2015 | By: Clark Schultz General Motors is ahead of the game on certain aspects of development for the Bolt electric vehicle model, according to top engineers. Many technical issues on the promised 200-mile range battery have been worked out, says product development chief Mark Reuss. Production for the Bolt has been set initially for 2016 - ahead of the expected launch of Tesla's mass-market Model 3. Previously: GM raises the stakes in EV game (Jan. 12 2015) Previously: An electric Bolt from GM (Jan. 10 2015) [© seekingalpha.com] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cae55be2-dfaf-11e4-a6c4-00144feab7de.html General Motors says it has resolved Bolt’s technical challenges April 13, 2015 Robert Wright [image http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/07c59505-59ff-4747-865e-2f6e7a0cdba1.img Inside The 2015 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS)...The General Motors Co. (GM) Chevrolet Bolt concept vehicle is unveiled during the 2015 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. General Motors is unveiling a new version of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt as gas hovers near $2 a gallon and the number of buyers who want a fuel-sipping vehicle shrinks. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg ©Bloomberg The Chevrolet Bolt video flash ] General Motors has “pretty much resolved” the technical challenges of producing its groundbreaking Bolt electric car, the company’s head of product development has said, which could transform the niche technology’s prospects. However, Mark Reuss added that there remained “commercial issues” to resolve with the vehicle, which is meant to cost $30,000 after federal tax incentives and be capable of running for 200 miles between battery charges. GM is likely to have a substantial head start over competitors if it has overcome the challenges of producing a long-range electric car cheaply. One of the most popular long-range existing vehicles — Tesla Motors’ Model S — starts at about $67,500 after federal incentives. Pam Fletcher, GM’s executive chief engineer for electrified vehicles, supported Mr Reuss’s contention, saying the company was well on its way to developing the critical battery for the vehicle. GM faced considerable scepticism when it unveiled the Bolt concept car at January’s Detroit auto show about whether it could produce a battery that held sufficient energy for a 200-mile trip at a reasonable price. “We’ve pretty much resolved most of them,” Mr Reuss said of the technical issues. But he added that the company still had to ensure the vehicle’s systems integrated satisfactorily. “We know how to do it,” Mr Reuss said. “We’re doing it and evaluating it.” Ms Fletcher said GM had the “right proposition” for the battery. “We’re moving forward with that proposition,” she said. Many observers believe that a cost-effective electric vehicle with a 200-mile range could substantially increase demand for electric vehicles. There were only 64,772 pure electric vehicles sold last year in the US, according to the National Auto Dealers’ Association — less than 0.4 per cent of the 16.4m total. Michelle Krebs, an analyst for the car information site AutoTrader.com, said any technical progress would help with both the price and range issues facing electric vehicles. “Those are big issues with electric vehicles,” she said. At the New York auto show this month, Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Japan’s Nissan, one of the keenest proponents of electric vehicles, declined to comment on the Bolt and his company’s progress. He instead portrayed the challenge facing the sector as a lack of charging infrastructure, which would take time to resolve. “We are going to need to be patient,” he said. Tesla is also planning a mass-market electric vehicle, the Model 3, meant to have a 200-mile range and sell for $35,000. The vehicle is due to go on sale in 2017. Production of the Bolt is due to start next year. Ms Fletcher, meanwhile, stressed that the issues with designing the Bolt went beyond the challenges of producing a suitable battery and reducing the vehicle’s weight. Much of the work was going into reducing air drag on the vehicle. “Mass is important,” Ms Fletcher said. “Aerodynamics are an even bigger lever in vehicle efficiency.” [© ft.com] ... http://www.businessfinancenews.com/22108-general-motors-company-gm-has-resolved-bolts-technical-challenges-financial/ General Motors Company (GM) Has Resolved Bolt’s Technical Challenges: Financial Times by Jason Graul April 14, 2015 For EVLN posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-GM-Sez-Dolt-Bolt-Name-Stays-connotes-good-things-tp4674963.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
