The volt is a series hybrid, where the gas engine primarily acts as a generator to the battery and the primary drive train is the motor pulling energy from the battery.
There is a high power mode that will switch on under special conditions that couple the engine to the drive train directly, but it can only do that as a temporary boost. The generator cannot directly drive the motor either, it needs the battery to serve as a temporary buffer to control the energy flow to each subsystem.
Interesting. Thanks for the explanation.
The idea behind the volt seems like the most practical EV solution. But if you can't source affordable batteries. Not worth it.
agreed, it's got an amazing T-bridge current flow controller too, piques my interest as someone with electrical background. The volt's battery uses a different chemistry than the typical lithium ion too, both a pro (efficient) and a con (rare, making it more costly) for customers.
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