Enhanced potential

摘要

When General Motors decided to develop a vehicle that used an electric motor and battery pack to provide the primary propulsion, but supplemented with a four-cylinder gasoline generator to continue supplying electricity, many derided the company. It was the same response that Toyota had faced a decade earlier when it brought the Prius hybrid to market. Why develop two powertrains to propel one vehicle? GM was also developing the technology at a time when the automotive industry, particularly in North America, was facing difficult financial challenges. But it persevered, and now the firm is bringing to market the second generation of its range-extended electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt.