In the two years since the car went on sale, Chevrolet Volt owners have collectively rolled up over 100,000,000 miles of zero-emissions motoring driving on electric power alone. Although Chevy’s breakthrough extended-range electric vehicle has a 1.4-liter gasoline engine that can generate electricity on the fly when energy stored in its 16.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack is depleted, the automaker’s data indicated that owners operated their Volts in pure EV mode over 65 percent of the time in the process of establishing this heady cumulative figure.
According to Chevrolet, the Volt’s EPA-estimated 98 MPGe has resulted in savings of about $1,370 a year in fuel costs compared to the average mileage figures of other new vehicle sold in the U.S. With an electric-only range of 35-40 miles, its cumulative 100,000,000 miles of EV travel also has trimmed gasoline use by some 5 million gallons – or roughly $21 million — over the same two year period.
