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General Motors has cast doubt over the long-term future of the Chevrolet Volt by claiming it may not be commercially viable and other rivals may overtake it with superior and more advanced technology.

GM submitted a regulatory filing report to the US Treasury yesterday and CEO Fritz Henderson claimed its “disclosures are consistent with our commitment to remain transparent and to keep the public informed of our progress”.

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Proof, if proof were needed, that Toyota (& maybe Honda) are 2 or 3 generations ahead of the opposition in the hybrid game.

 

I think almost any car company can come up with a hybrid, electric, or fuel cell prototype. Actually being able to sell them at a profit is where the skill lies, and yes, this is what Toyota and Honda have done.

We have seen many compnies showing off their technology, but no one else has made it work yet. I think the size of the battery pack for the Volt is so large to make it very expensive to produce. Conventional Hybrids have much smaller battery packs, and this is why they are relatively affordable. i suspect the future beyond Petrol or Diesel hybrids will be Hydrogen fuel cells, and guess what. Honda are there already, even if its only in limited numbers.

But a large number of plug in Hybrids or Hydrogen fuel cell cars are going to put a huge strain on electrity generation which in the UK we are no where near ready for (i dont know about the rest of the world).  So i think we are all going to be driving using perol or diesel in one form or another for a very long time into the future.

 

artill:

I think almost any car company can come up with a hybrid, electric, or fuel cell prototype. Actually being able to sell them at a profit is where the skill lies, and yes, this is what Toyota and Honda have done.

So what makes you think that Toyota, Honda sell these at a profit? They are loss-leaders that enhance the image of the brands in the eyes of a gullible public. Ask yourself this: If they're profitable, and the answer to all our woes, why aren't all Toyotas and Hondas hybrids, rather than the tiny proportion of their total volume?

Surely the GM can't pull on the plug (no pun intended) on the Volt now! They've invested too much money and a lot of publicity on this thing to give up on it.

Also, on the techonology front, I thought the Volt was supposed to be quite a bit more advanced than anything the likes of Toyota and Honda have on offer currently.

 

Welsh Wizard:

o what makes you think that Toyota, Honda sell these at a profit? They are loss-leaders that enhance the image of the brands in the eyes of a gullible public. Ask yourself this: If they're profitable, and the answer to all our woes, why aren't all Toyotas and Hondas hybrids, rather than the tiny proportion of their total volume?

Er, perhaps it's because only a small proportion of buyers want a hybrid...

Overdrive:

Surely the GM can't pull on the plug (no pun intended) on the Volt now! They've invested too much money and a lot of publicity on this thing to give up on it.

 Yes, but if you've just emerged from bankruptcy, and will potentially loose money every time you sell one, then it doesn't make any business sense. A profitable GM might be able to afford to do this kind of thing in the future, but at the moment.........

noluddite:

Er, perhaps it's because only a small proportion of buyers want a hybrid...

You miss my point. Car buyers in this sector primarily look for good price and economy. If hybrids were inherently cheaper, then they'd sell in much larger numbers. However, they are priced at a point just high enough to limit demand and therefore mitigate losses for the manufacturers. 

RacingPuma:

Proof, if proof were needed, that Toyota (& maybe Honda) are 2 or 3 generations ahead of the opposition in the hybrid game.

Proof, if proof were needed that Toyota (& maybe Honda) are profitable companies that can afford to develop vehicles for limited volumes that are a marketing man's dream but have no real relevance to long term solutions. 

"...then it doesn't make any business sense..."

But as noted in the article the company is US government-owned, so "business sense" isn't a factor.

So that’s it then, the Volt is a no go, doomed, they are just giving up. Maybe this is what GM is going to announce at the press conference they are having tomorrow. Somehow I think the tone of the forthcoming gathering will be a little less Revelation and a bit more Genesis.

Welsh Wizard:

So what makes you think that Toyota, Honda sell these at a profit? They are loss-leaders that enhance the image of the brands in the eyes of a gullible public. Ask yourself this: If they're profitable, and the answer to all our woes, why aren't all Toyotas and Hondas hybrids, rather than the tiny proportion of their total volume?

As I understand it, Toyota have been making a profit lately on the Mk. 2 version and will do on the new Mk. 3. Don't know about Honda. Toyota have already stated that they plan to have a hybrid version of each of the models in their range on sale in the not too far future. There is an Auris hybrid due early next year, I believe. It would be a big job to produce all the batteries required for all Toyotas cars but I guess that as they become more accepted by us drivers, there will be more and more produced.