GM cuts charging time by 50% for its Volt

I wanted to bring this June 29 news item to the attention of the PriusChat gang:

2019 Chevrolet Volt cuts charging times almost in half
New system allows for full recharge in 2.3 hours, good for 85 km of range


The new 2019 Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle has nearly halved the time it takes to charge its batteries, with a full recharge good for 85 km now requiring just 2.3 hours, or about two hours and twenty minutes, when using a 240-volt outlet and the proper supporting hardware. That’s thanks to a 7.2-kW charging system, standard in the Volt Premier trim and optional on the base LT (a 3.6-kW charger is standard on that spec.)​

It sound like GM had decided that if there is a 240-volt Level 2 EVSE available that can handle the extra current, the Volt can treat its batteries as two units, each half the size, which can thus charge concurrently in half the time.

One of the "complaints" about the Volt's 50-mile range is that it took twice as long to bring to full charge compared with the Toyota Prime. (The Volt has twice the EV-only range, but don't expect that all automobile buyers are logical.)

As higher-current Level 2 EVSE units become more widely installed, this is a sensible strategy. And, keep in mind that, in this case, "higher-current" means 240 volts at 32 amps -- easily accommodated by a 40-amp L2 EVSE unit.

Two hours and 50 miles appears to be a sweet spot for many drivers. I would hope that the next generation Prime would meet or exceed those parameters.

 

Not exactly. Two hours on an L2 will bring the Prime to full charge with a nominal range of 26 miles. The same two hours of charging on an L2 will bring the new version of the Volt to full charge with a nominal range to 50 miles.

 

I suspect that you are correct about the ability to increase the battery capacity on the Prime without some radical change in battery technology allowing a higher density of energy storage within the same physical dimensions.

However, there is a real advantage to PHEVs because of their virtually unlimited range when using conventional fuel in HV mode. Based upon my own travel patterns, the Prime does fine with it's 26 mile (winter) to 34 mile (summer) EV range for 85% to 90% of our household driving needs and in HV mode for the 1% or 2% of trips which one would consider "long distance."

(The HV mode as done well for longer trips including round-trips which we've made within the past several weeks for vacation travel. In miles, such longer trips make up about 25% of our annual driving in miles but probably less than 1% of the number of trips.)

My frustration, however, is that I cannot make round trips entirely in EV mode to nearby destinations in the metropolitan area which are about 20 to 25 miles in each direction unless there is an available L2 charger at the destination.

I recall reading that Toyota designed to the 26-mile EV range because statistically 90% of U.S. commuters travel less than 20 miles in each direction. The concept was that the "average Prime owner" would just plug-in at work and at home using the simple L-1 charger.

I wonder if Toyota has collected some actual statistics on their customers travel and charging patters. We know that the Prime reports this information and it would be an ideal application of "big data" analysis to see how well the vehicle's design parameters meet the customers' actual use.