General Motors Co. said today that its long-awaited Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid is expected to achieve fuel economy of 230 miles per gallon in city driving.
That would give the Volt, which is expected to arrive in showrooms late next year, by far the highest fuel efficiency rating of any car now rated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The current EPA mileage leader is the Toyota Prius hybrid, which is rated at 50 mpg in combined city-highway driving.
he Volt is designed to run on electric power only for about 40 miles, after which a small gasoline engine kicks in to re-charge the battery, giving it a total range of more than 300 miles. The battery can be recharged by plugging in to a home outlet.
GM's estimated mileage rating for the Volt is based on city driving. Highway mileage likely would be lower because it would require more work from the gasoline engine.
GM has not released pricing information on the Volt, industry analysts estimate it will cost about $40,000
Several other automakers, including Chrysler,
Nissan, Ford and Toyota, are working on variations of plug-in hybrids or all-electric vehicles that are expected to reach the market over the next few years.
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