The GM Board of Directors has reportedly given the go for the Cadillac Converj, a plug-in hybrid first shown, in concept form, at the 2009 Detroit North American International Auto Show.
Though no one is going on the record – yet – reports have surfaced suggesting General Motors is ready to give Cadillac the go-ahead to put the highly-regarded Converj concept vehicle into production.
First shown at the January 2009 North American International Auto Show, the sleek coupe would be the luxury cousin to Chevrolet’s upcoming Volt plug-in. A third version of what GM prefers to call an “extended-range electric vehicle,” or E-REV, will debut in Europe, in 2011, as the Opel Ampera.
The Detroit News reports Caddy got the go-ahead during a meeting of the GM board of directors, on November 2nd. Senior officials have said, on numerous occasions, that they would like to add more vehicles using the Volt technology. Among other things, that would improve economies of scale which, in the long-run, would help drive down costs and speed up the development of the underlying technology.
It would also be easier, according to Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, then head of product development, to justify the hefty premium for battery-based technology. The Volt is expected to cost more than $40,000 when it launches, in late 2010. And even with a $7,500 federal tax credit for high-mileage, advanced powertrain vehicles, the Chevy sedan is expected to cost $15,000 or so more than a similar product using a conventional gasoline engine.
Converj would cost even more than Volt, but would feature an array of luxury features. Powering some of that technology could require even more batteries than the Chevrolet model. Lutz said, last January, that a production Converj would be very close to the Detroit Auto Show concept.
So-called E-REV technology is, on the surface, similar to that used in a more conventional hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius or Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, in that Volt, Converj and Ampera have both electric motors and gasoline engines. But their battery packs use advanced lithium-ion, rather than nickel-metal hydride, technology, and are larger, giving the vehicles much more range on electric power alone.
And unlike Plug-in Hybrid-Electric Vehicles, like the P-HEV Prius Toyota will launch next year, the driven wheels of the Volt and its siblings will only be powered by electric propulsion. The Chevy, Caddy and Opel E-REVs are expected to deliver a minimum 40 miles on battery power, even at highway speeds. Once their battery pack is discharged, an small inline-four engine will fire up automatically. But it will only serve as a generator, providing energy for the wheel motors – or to recharge the batteries.