GM not willing to confirm Chevrolet Volt 230 mpg fuel-economy figure

April 13, 2010 Omar Rana Chevrolet Volt, Compact Cars, electric-cars, electric-vehicles, fuel-economy, plug-in hybrids

In August of 2009, General Motors held a press conference stating that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric-car will average a city fuel-economy of at least 230 miles per gallon. Yesterday, engineers working on the Volt gave us a little update on what’s going on with the development of the Volt, however, they weren’t willing to confirm the 230 mpg city fuel-economy that they touted last year.

“The 230 mpg number talked about a few months ago was based on some preliminary discussion with the EPA,” said Andrew Farah, the vehicle chief engineer on the Chevrolet Volt. “Those conversations have been continuing and have not yet come to a conclusion.”

GM’s Volt spokesman, Rob Peterson, was also contacted by Inside Line asking whether the 230 mpg number was irrelevant at this point. He replied: “I don’t have anything to say about it at this point in time.”

Other than that, engineers confirmed that the Volt was hitting its target of 40 miles on battery power alone. They also confirmed that when the Volt travels in extended range mode (with the engine running), it averages about 50 mpg.

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