chevy volt battery fires threaten all electric vehicle makers, not just gm - 3.7 volt rechargeable lithium ion battery
Every major automaker has skin in the game of electric cars, so the current investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into the Chevrolet Volt battery fire could threaten the whole industry, not just Chevrolet and its parent company, general Motors.
Nissan Motor Company
At the top of that list.
Nissan has a lot of chips on electric cars.
Around the same time as Chevrolet launched the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan launched the battery-powered Nissan Leaf at the end of 2010.
Nissan Leaf is the first production model
Market electric vehicles, the key to Nissan's ongoing campaign as a technology innovator.
It only uses battery power.
Chevrolet Volt has both battery power and gasoline engines, which greatly expands the range of cars and generates electricity when the battery is low.
Like Nissan Leaf, the Chevrolet Volt can also be charged by plugging it into a power outlet.
What they have in common is rechargeable lithium-
The concept of ion batteries is similar to that in laptops, just bigger.
The same is true for electric cars and gasoline electric hybrids from all other automakers, whether they are for sale now or in the product line.
Including Ford Motor.
Chrysler Group, Toyota Motor Corporation.
Honda Motor Company
Not to mention luxury car makers like BMW and Daimler. Lithium-
Ion batteries are a key breakthrough to make electric vehicles more practical in terms of operating range.
So it's not just the Chevrolet issue if the public starts to associate with the terms, "Lithium
"Electric cars" and "fire ".
Nissansays said its battery layout is particularly safe, including the frame around the battery and the solid steel housing around the battery itself.
Nissan said through a spokesman that the company has not yet found any crash.
Test that caused the fire.
Still, if demand for electric vehicles drops, Nissan is also vulnerable on the other hand, as Nissan is building a dedicated factory in Tennessee to produce more Nissan Leaf starting in 2012.
According to AutoData Corp. , Nissan Leaf sold 8,720 vehicles in the United States as of November.
After the new plant is completed and fully put into operation, Nissan's annual sales volume is expected to reach about 150,000 vehicles.
In contrast, the electric vehicle Ford is producing is basically a battery-driven version of a traditional power vehicle.
For example, Ford Fox electric cars can be built on the same assembly line as other cars.
Unlike Nissan, if there is a demand for electric vehicle tanks, Ford will not be bothered by a white elephant factory that cannot easily turn to make other things.
Currently the background of the Chevrolet Volt is that, in rare cases, the fire happened in the days or even weeks after the NHTSA crash --
The Chevrolet Volt and its battery pack were tested in a collision sufficient to damage the battery.
NHTSA is investigating.
NHTSA says it's not aware of any such fire in the real situationworld crashes.
GM insists the Chevrolet Volt is safe to drive.
"Volt is our pride and joy and we will do everything we can to make sure that the owner is as proud of it as we are," said Mark Reese, GM North America president, in November.
Conference Call. As a short-
GM has announced it will offer free rental cars to Chevrolet Volt owners.
GM also provides training for emergency staff as a precaution to run out of stored power from the battery after a crash involving the Chevrolet Volt.
It's like leaving without running out of batteries, "Gasoline is in a broken tank," said Mary Barra, GM's senior vice president of global product development.
"It's important to run out of batteries," she said on the conference call . ".
There is no doubt that GM's competitors also want to ease the situation.