Holden gets first Volt

Holden’s Volt hybrid has made its first local appearance about a year before it is due to be launched in Australia. The petrol/electric small car officially outed is a left-hand drive validation/verification car already seen trundling around the roads of Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.

The Cruze-sized hybrid differs from other petrol-electric cars already familiar in this country — including Toyota Prius and Honda Insight — in that it is driven directly by an electric motor, using a petrol engine for recharging — although the Volt's petrol engine can also provide motive power when needed.

The Volt’s electric motor is claimed to have the ability to cover around 60km before requiring charging by the petrol engine. It can also be charged via a conventional household power socket.

Reports coming out of the US suggest most Volt owners don’t get to use the backup petrol engine a lot. General Motors says owners in the US have covered up to 2300km before needing to top up the fuel tank.

The Holden Volt is unlike Prius and Insight in another way too. It will be expensive, with a projected price of around $60,000 expected to apply when it is launched in Australia.

Of the evaluation car, Holden’s Director of Electrical Engineering, Paul Gibson, said “The engineering department will use these validation exercises to ensure the electrical infrastructure around the country supports the Volt and that the recharging process is as seamless as possible for customers,”

Despite some delays in production at GM’s plant in Hamtramck, Detroit, the Holden Volt remains on schedule for its Australian introduction in late 2012.

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