A General Motors fez um evento especial nos EUA para falar sobre o futuro de sua linha de elétricos para todas as marcas do grupo. No caso da Chevrolet, as novidades serão a reestilização do hatch Bolt, prevista para o final de 2020. Já no 2º trimestre do ano que vem, será a vez do inédito crossover baseado o compacto, até agora chamado de Bolt EUV (na projeção acima).

O Bolt EUV será um carro especial para a Chevrolet, por ser o primeiro carro da marca a adotar o sistema de controle de cruzeiro adaptativo chamado Super Cruise. A tecnologia, que estreou na Cadillac, estará disponível em 22 veículos até 2023. Funciona com comunicação V2X, conversando com outros carros e a infraestrutura local para antecipar informações como semáforos fechando ou a existência de um obstáculo à frente.

Galeria: Chevrolet Bolt EUV - Projeção

Motor1.com participou do evento da GM e pode ver de perto o Bolt renovado e o Bolt EUV, porém a fabricante proibiu qualquer fotografia. Os dois carros compartilham o novo visual dianteiro e até lembram um pouco do Ford Mustang Mach-E. O interior também é igual para a dupla, usando muitos materiais macios ao toque no acabamento, novos bancos, botões para seleção de marcha e mais. A grande diferença é que o crossover tem mais espaço, já que seu entre-eixos é cerca de 8 centímetros mais longo, enquanto o comprimento é aproximadamente 13 cm maior.

Embora um dos focos do evento tenha sido a apresentação da tecnologia de baterias Ultium da GM, o Bolt reestilizado não as receberá. Segundo a GM, elas tem capacidades entre 50 kWh a 200 kWh, podendo usar estações de recarga de nível 2 ou de recarga rápida. A versão normal terá um conjunto de 400V e capacidade de carga por uma corrente de até 200 kW de potência. Ainda terá uma variante para picapes eleva esses números para 800V e 350 kW.

Os novos conjuntos de bateria usam células que funcionam como bolsos, permitindo que os engenheiros as coloquem na vertical ou horizontal dentro do pacote. Desta forma, elas irão afetar menos a forma como cada carro é desenhado, ao invés de sempre usá-las na horizontal - uma picape poderia ter as baterias entre a cabine e a caçamba, por exemplo.

Como o Chevrolet Bolt vendido no Brasil chega ao país em lotes, a mudança de visual do hatch deve acontecer somente em 2021, na melhor das hipóteses. Já o Bolt EUV ainda não tem data para chegar às concessionárias brasileiras.

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GM Reveals New Ultium Batteries and a Flexible Global Platform to Rapidly Grow its EV Portfolio

 

 

 

WARREN, Mich. – Starting today, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is gathering hundreds of employees, dealers, investors, analysts, media and policymakers to share details of its strategy to grow the company’s electric vehicle (EV) sales quickly, efficiently and profitably.

 


“Our team accepted the challenge to transform product development at GM and position our company for an all-electric future,” said Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO. “What we have done is build a multi-brand, multi-segment EV strategy with economies of scale that rival our full-size truck business with much less complexity and even more flexibility.”

 


The heart of GM’s strategy is a modular propulsion system and a highly flexible, third- generation global EV platform powered by proprietary Ultium batteries. They will allow the company to compete for nearly every customer in the market today, whether they are looking for affordable transportation, a luxury experience, work trucks or a high-performance machine.

 


“Thousands of GM scientists, engineers and designers are working to execute an historic reinvention of the company,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “They are on the cusp of delivering a profitable EV business that can satisfy millions of customers.”

 

 

 

Ultium Batteries and Propulsion System Highlights

GM’s new Ultium batteries are unique in the industry because the large-format, pouch-style cells can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery pack. This allows engineers to optimize battery energy storage and layout for each vehicle design. 
Ultium energy options range from 50 to 200 kWh, which could enable a GM-estimated range up to 400 miles or more on a full charge with 0 to 60 mph acceleration as low as 3 seconds. Motors designed in-house will support front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and performance all-wheel drive applications.
Ultium-powered EVs are designed for Level 2 and DC fast charging. Most will have 400-volt battery packs and up to 200kW fast-charging capability while our truck platform will have 800-volt battery packs and 350 kW fast-charging capability.

 

GM’s flexible, modular approach to EV development will drive significant economies of scale and create new revenue opportunities, including: 

Continuous Improvement in Battery Costs: GM’s joint venture with LG Chem will drive battery cell costs below $100/kWh. The cells use a proprietary low cobalt chemistry and ongoing technological and manufacturing breakthroughs will drive costs even lower.
Flexibility: GM’s all-new global platform is flexible enough to build a wide range of trucks, SUVs, crossovers, cars and commercial vehicles with outstanding design, performance, packaging, range and affordability.
Capital Efficiency: GM can spend less capital to scale its EV business because it is able to leverage existing property, including land, buildings, tools and production equipment such as body shops and paint shops.
Complexity Reduction: The vehicle and propulsion systems were designed together to minimize complexity and part counts beyond today’s EVs, which are less complex than conventional vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. For example, GM plans 19 different battery and drive unit configurations initially, compared with 550 internal combustion powertrain combinations available today.
Rising Customer Acceptance: Third-party forecasters expect U.S. EV volumes to more than double from 2025 to 2030 to about 3 million units on average. GM believes volumes could be materially higher as more EVs are launched in popular segments, charging networks grow and the total cost of ownership to consumers continues to fall. 
New Sources of Revenue: By vertically integrating the manufacture of battery cells, the company can reach beyond its own fleet and license technology to others.

 

The first generation of GM’s future EV program will be profitable. The initial programs will pave the way for further accretive growth. GM’s technology can be scaled to meet customer demand much higher than the more than 1 million global sales the company expects mid-decade.

 

 

 

Upcoming Launches and Reveals

Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick will all be launching new EVs starting this year. The next new Chevrolet EV will be a new version of the Bolt EV, launching in late 2020, followed by the 2022 Bolt EUV, launching Summer 2021. The Bolt EUV will be the first vehicle outside of the Cadillac brand to feature Super Cruise, the industry's first true hands-free driving technology for the highway, which GM will expand to 22 vehicles by 2023, including 10 by next year.

 


The Cruise Origin, a self-driving, electric shared vehicle, shown to the public in January 2020 in San Francisco, was the first product revealed using GM’s third generation EV platform and Ultium batteries. Next will be the Cadillac Lyriq luxury SUV in April. Details about its launch will be shared then. The reveal of the Ultium-powered GMC HUMMER EV will follow on May 20. Production is expected to begin in Fall 2021 at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, GM’s first assembly plant 100 percent dedicated to EV production.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements:  This press release contains forward-looking statements that represent our current judgment about possible future events. In making these statements we rely on assumptions and analysis based on our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors we consider appropriate under the circumstances. We believe these judgments are reasonable, but these statements are not guarantees of any events or financial results, and our actual results may differ materially due to a variety of important factors, both positive and negative. A list and description of these factors can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or other factors that affect the subject of these statements, except where we are expressly required to do so by law.