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Weight, Price Penalty for 40 Miles of All-Electric Range Is Prohibitive, Researchers Say





By John O'Dell, Senior Editor










In a report sure to be a blow to GM's hopes for its upcoming plug-in hybrid, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found that the extra cost and weight of the 


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Researchers say vehicles like the the Chevy Volt may be too much of a good thing.


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batteries a vehicle such as the Chevrolet Volt must carry to achieve its targeted 40 miles of all-electric range make it too expensive to be cost-effective transportation for most people.


The report, to be published in a future issue of the journal "Energy Policy," doesn't identify the Volt by name but compares a plug-in hybrid with its basic characteristics to conventional hybrids, other plug-ins with less electric range, and even conventional vehicles.


"Large-capacity PHEVs sized for 40 or more miles of electric-only travel are not cost-effective in any scenario," the report's authors insist.


Bloomberg News issued the first report on the study today.


Fuel Savings Not There


General Motors Corp. has designed the Volt to travel up to 40 miles on a fully charged battery pack before its auxiliary gasoline engine-generator kicks in.


The automaker says that because the average American drives less the 40 miles a day when commuting or using the vehicle for normal household errands, the Volt will be highly fuel-efficient and will run as a zero-emissions vehicle for much of its time on the road.


That may be true, the Carnegie Mellon researchers say in their study of plug-in hybrid cost-effectiveness, but if an owner hopes to recoup ownership costs from fuel savings, a rechargeable hybrid vehicle capable of that much all-electric range isn't the answer.


"Forty miles might be a sweet spot for making sure a lot of people get to work without using gasoline, but you're doing it at a cost that will never be repaid in fuel savings," Jeremy Michalek, an engineering professor who led the study, told Bloomberg News in an interview.




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Tags: Batteries, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Chevrolet Volt, Plug In Hybrid Cost Effectiveness

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Study Finds Plug-In Hybrids With Lots of All-Electric Range Won't Be Cost-Effective was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.