Yesterday General Motors revealed that its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car would boast fuel consumption of 230 miles per gallon in city driving making it far more efficient than existing environmentally friendly cars. Fritz Henderson, GM’s chief executive, provided the estimate as part of a drive to burnish the car maker’s image and win back customers since its emergence from a court-supervised restructuring early last month. The Volt, due to go into production in late 2010, will be powered mainly by a battery pack with a 40-mile range. A small internal combustion engine will extend the range by recharging the battery while the car is in motion. The 230 mpg fuel-consumption figure is based on draft guidelines being developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Toyota’s Prius hatch-back, the top-selling hybrid, carries a fuel-economy rating of 48 mpg.
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