Chevy Has Replaced Zero Volt Batteries

2016 Chevrolet Volt (Credit: Chevrolet)

Back when the Chevy Volt was first launched, it got nothing but hate from Fox News, among others. One of the claims certain people made was that the cars’ batteries would wear out after a few years, costing thousands and generating a bunch of waste.

To guard against this risk, the government created a law requiring GM to have the ability in place to make replacement batteries for cars still under warranty. Autoblog recently reported that the Brownstone factory is still ready to churn out batteries for the first-gen Volts, but hasn’t had to produce a single one.

The critics have pretty much fallen silent on the Volt, instead focusing on other new technologies like Tesla’s Autopilot. If you stop and think about it, not having a single battery replaced is a strong testament to the engineering prowess of GM. There are some Volts out there with a lot of miles on them, including at least one with over 300,000 miles.

The other big piece of news is that GM is looking to start making some batteries in China. Apparently Brownstown is getting a little too busy. With several new plug-in hybrid vehicles from different GM brands coming out soon, something has to give.