GM is getting ready to give its “Extended Range Electric Vehicle” or E-REV Chevrolet Volt a second shot in the market with the launch of a new model, reportedly coming next year.
The news comes from an unnamed industry source who told Edmunds that the second generation of Chevy’s plug-in hybrid will be introduced next year as a 2016MY, featuring a fresh, but not dramatically different styling, and a new front drive platform.
“It is different, but not drastically different,” the source told the news site. “Just really a bit of a styling change to it.”
There’s no mention of any powertrain changes. The current model shares the same basic propulsion system with the Cadillac ELR with a 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine powering a generator that recharges the lithium-ion batteries.
In absolute terms, the Chevrolet Volt hasn’t exactly been a runaway success for GM with 23,094 units sold last year, but then again, no pure-electric or plug-in hybrid model has in America, with the entire segment accounting for just 96,000 deliveries out of a total of 15.6 million in 2013, according to Wards Automotive.
Former GM CEO Dan Akerson said last May that the brand was looking for ways to cut as much as $10,000 per car from the Volt’s production costs to make the next generation less costly for consumers and more profitable for itself. In August of the same year, GM slashed prices of the Volt by $5,000, reducing the MSRP from $39,995 to $34,995, including an $810 destination fee, but not federal tax credits of up to $7,500.
By John Halas
Note: Current Chevrolet Volt Mk1 pictured
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