Chevy Kills the Volt to Focus on Zero-Emission Vehicles

The Volt no longer fits into Chevy’s all-electric future. GM plans to retire the venerable plug-in hybrid in March 2019.

On the face of it, this isn’t hugely surprising – iconic brands like Lamborghini, Porsche, Aston Martin, and even the Volkswagen hippie bus are flaunting battery-electric models. Uber wants its entire London fleet fully-electrified by 2025, and FedEx just invested in 1,000 electric delivery trucks. A recent study predicted that 80% of all buses will be electric by 2040.

Activists consider plug-in hybrids like the Volt a half-measure. A stop-gap solution. And while the Chevy Volt never lit up the sales charts – hitting an apex in 2016 with 24,739 units sold – hybrids might be more palatable to the general public than battery-electric vehicles, with their limited range and sparse power (notwithstanding anomalies like Rivian’s electric pickup).

The Volt sports an “extended range” of 340 miles highway. With the exception of Tesla’s pricier EVs, most battery-electric models can’t touch that.

“All of the companies that are plowing headlong into EVs are taking a leap of faith,” said Mike Ramsey, senior director and analyst for Gartner, Inc. “But that leap of faith is based on the idea that oil is a finite resource.”

Plastics Today points out that pure-electric made up only about one-half of a percent of the vehicles sold in the US last year.

Then again, the Volt and Bolt (the fully-electric version) will hit their federal tax credit limit early next year, with 200,000 units sold. That means sayonara to the $7,500 tax rebate, and the Volt suddenly becomes a lot less affordable.

What do you think? Is there an EV in your future?