GM is scrambling to pick up the pieces in the wake of a decision by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration open a probe into the safety of the battery pack on the Chevrolet Volt extended-range battery car.
The agency said a lithium-ion battery pack in a Volt that had been through a crash test at a facility in Burlington, Wisconsin in May had burst into flames three weeks later, causing several other vehicles parked nearby to catch fire as well.
So the NHTSA took two more Volt battery packs, subjected them to a side impact in the laboratory, and kept a close eye on them. One caught fire on Thursday, a week after the simulated crash, while the other began to give off smoke and sparks.
The Volt is powered by a large number of lithium-ion battery cells, made by LG in Korea, which are mounted in a T-shaped battery pack, with coolant pumped between the cells to keep them from overheating.
In the fire at Burlington, Wisconsin, coolant leaked from the battery pack and crystallized, and GM has said that could have been a factor in the fire.
Every time a Volt is subjected to a severe impact, GM's service centre in alerted via the Volt's Onstar internet safety system and, although it claims there have been no Volt battery fires outside the Wisconsin crash-test laboratory, it has sent engineers to the site of every crash involving a Volt since then to “de-power” the battery.
GM product development chief Mary Barra likened the process to draining petrol from a damaged fuel tank after a crash. GM technicians had used the process since July after a “handful” of serious crashes, she said.
“We have now shared this process with the NHTSA and are working to extend this process and the needed equipment to those who handle or store vehicles after a severe crash,” she added.
Barra also said GM was looking at ways to make the design of the Volt battery pack “more robust,” but declined to identify what changes those might entail.
GM North America president Mark Reuss said during the same conference call: “New technologies are always held up to intense scrutiny. We welcome it, we expect it.”
Reuss called electric vehicles “our industry's moon shot” and insisted that customers had nothing to fear.
“GM believes in the safety of the Volt,” Reuss said. “My daughter drives her Volt every day with two kids in it. She continues to drive it and loves it.”
GM will nonetheless offer Volt owners a loan vehicle until the investigation is complete. The unusual offer was meant to demonstrate its “white glove treatment” for Volt customers.
“It underlines our commitment to the vehicle and its owners,” Reuss said.
He said GM wouldn't sell any Volts in other countries until it made sure emergency responders, scrapyards and dealers had been trained to discharge the batteries after a severe crash. GM would also not deliver the Opel-branded version of the Volt in Europe until its engineers and safety regulators had worked out steps to deal with the 180kg battery pack after any accidents.
Analysts said GM's quick response showed it had learned from watching rival Toyota take a hit to its reputation for its handling of a string of recent recalls.
IHS analyst Aaron Bragman commented: “It's actually a good move on GM's part to do this. It shows that they recognise this is still new technology and it's going to have to be handled a little bit differently.”
The Volt can travel about 55km on a fully-charged battery pack before a generator powered by a 1.4-litre petrol engine kicks jn to keep it going (hence the term 'extended range'). Although it's expensive - $40 000 (R335 000) before a $7500 (R63 000) federal tax credit - it has helped restore Chevrolet's public image, and GM is eager to protect that good will.
The company has promoted the Volt as a first step toward independence from foreign oil, and it has helped counter GM'S gas-guzzling image left over from years of selling mainly pickup trucks and thirsty SUV's.
The only other major automaker with an all-electric car in production is Nissan, but it says its Leaf has a different battery pack that runs cooler than the Volt battery. - Reuters/AP