Detroit debut for next-gen Volt

CHEVROLET has confirmed that the next-generation Volt will be unveiled at the Detroit motor show in January next year and released a teaser image hinting at the styling of the new range-extender hybrid.

The tightly cropped image is of the rear panel between the tail-lights, but shows a more contoured rear end than the existing model. Spy shots of the car, however, have revealed the new Volt to be lower and sleeker than the present version.

The new Volt will be built on GM's new D2XX flexible global platform, which will underpin a number of models including next generation versions of the Cruze, Opel Astra and Chevrolet/Holden Captiva.

In current generation guise, the Volt is built on the Delta II platform that forms the basis of the existing Cruze and Astra.

When asked if the next-generation car with the new platform will make it to Australia, Holden executive director of corporate affairs George Svigos was not able to reveal the company’s intentions.

“We do not discuss plans for future produce,” Mr Svigos said.

With its debut at the Detroit motor show in January, the next-generation Volt is expected to go on sale in the United States by the middle of the year, but the American brand is yet to announce pricing.

Like the current car, the next Volt will be built at General Motor’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, and the American automotive giant has confirmed it will invest $US449 million to upgrade the facility in preparation for the new generation of electric vehicles.

Part of that money will also be injected into the Brownstown Township Battery assemble plant in Detroit which will put together the new lithium-ion battery packs for the Volt, which should extend the electric motor’s range beyond the 60km of the current model.

With 65,000 examples of the Volt sold in the US since its debut in 2010, it is now the best-selling plug-in electric vehicle in the country, and in July sales were up 13 percent.

Chevrolet said in the announcement that Volt owners drive 63 percent of their distance in electric vehicle mode and that those who charged regularly typically drove 1560km between petrol station fill ups.

The company also cited an independent customer satisfaction survey which ranked the Volt the highest rating car under $US55,000.

The Volt, which went on sale in Australia in October 2012 and currently sells for $59,990 excluding on-road costs has not enjoyed the same sales success it has experienced in the US.

So far this year 42 Volts have been sold locally, down 44 percent on the same period last year. In total 223 Volts have found homes since the car’s arrival.