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Chevy Volt battery to have eight-year/100,000 mile warranty

General Motors announced its Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle will come with an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on its advanced lithium ion battery.

Suzanne Ashe
Suzanne Ashe has been covering technology, gadgets, video games, and cars for several years. In addition to writing features and reviews for magazines and Web sites, she has contributed to daily newspapers.
Suzanne Ashe
2 min read
General Motors

General Motors

General Motors today announced its Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle will come with an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on its advanced lithium ion battery. According to GM, this is the automotive industry's longest, most comprehensive battery warranty for an electric vehicle, and it's transferable to other vehicle owners at no additional cost.

"The Chevrolet Volt's batteries have exceeded our performance targets and are ready to hit the road," said Micky Bly, GM executive director, global electrical systems. "Our customers are making a commitment to technology that will help reduce our dependence on petroleum. In turn, we are making a commitment to our customers to deliver the highest standards for value, safety, quality, performance and reliability for an unprecedented eight years/100,000 miles."

The warranty covers all 161 battery components, 95 percent of which are designed and engineered by GM, in addition to the thermal management system, charging system and electric drive components.

According to GM, Volt is the only electric vehicle that can operate under a full range of climates and driving conditions without limitations or concern about being stranded by a depleted battery. It is the only mass-market electric vehicle with a battery that can be warmed or cooled.

The Volt has a range of about 340 miles. For up to the first 40 miles, the Volt is powered solely by electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium ion battery, using no fuel and producing no emissions. When the Volt's lithium ion battery runs low, an engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range another 300 miles on a full tank of fuel.

GM engineers have completed more than 1 million miles and 4 million hours of validation testing of Volt battery packs since 2007, as well as each pack's nine modules and 288 cells. The development, validation, and test teams have met thousands of specifications and validated each of the Volt battery's components, GM said.

Tests include short circuit, corrosion, dust, impact, water submersion, crush and penetration, and extreme temperature swings combined with aggressive drive cycles, also known as "Shake, Bake, and Roll."

"We're moving fast to deliver for the customer and ensure the Volt launch stays on track," said Nancy Laubenthal, plant manager of the Brownstown Battery Plant. "Last August we announced the investment in the Brownstown facility and in January built our first completed battery pack. Now we are finishing preproduction batteries, and soon we will begin building production batteries for Chevrolet Volts that will be delivered to dealers before the end of the year."

GM's Brownstown Township plant in Michigan began building prototype batteries in January. It will begin regular battery production soon, GM said.