New Battery for 2015 Spark EV

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GeorgeChevy

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Location
Bellflower, CA
http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/che...ages/news/us/en/2014/May/0514-brownstown.html

It appears that the 2015 model has a lot more changes than we originally thought-the 2015 gets a new battery that is assembled in-house by GM.

A newly designed battery system features an overall storage capacity of 19 kWh and uses 192 lithium ion cells. The cells are produced at LG Chem’s plant in Holland, Mich. The battery system weight of 474 lbs. is 86 pounds lighter than the system in the 2014 Spark EV. The Spark EV battery is built on a dedicated production line at Brownstown, which also manufactures complete battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt, Opel Ampera and Cadillac ELR.

Changes in battery design will not affect the Spark’s MPGe, or gasoline equivalent, performance compared to the 2014 model. Range will remain at an EPA-rated 82 miles and MPGe will remain at 119.
 
For a change this is a good move. Made locally, and not the usual..."because we made it lighter and more efficient we'll make everything else bigger."
 
iletric said:
Maybe now they'll start selling in in all 50 states... :lol:

You joke, but these are the kind of steps required to add significant volume. Bringing it in-house has lots of benefits for cost, development timing, quality control, warranty projections, optimizations, etc. Even if it doesn't play out that way (50 state Spark EVs) in the short term, it no doubt plays out that way (GM BEVs in 50 states) in the long term.

Bryce
 
Only time will tell. It is a compliance car, no doubt. GM sells a lot of cars. They truly have no choice when it comes to Ca ZEV mandate but to make BEV to offset the cost of carbon credits.

Do they grit and bear it, or are they happily selling Spark EV in Ca? I don't have the answer to that. My gut feeling is that they are beholden to big oil like everyone else (including many or most politicians).
 
I can't imagine why any EV manufacturer would still be using only a 3.3 kW charger. That's yesterday's technology. People expect to be able to buy the latest technology when buying a new vehicle.
 
blownb310 said:
I can't imagine why any EV manufacturer would still be using only a 3.3 kW charger. That's yesterday's technology. People expect to be able to buy the latest technology when buying a new vehicle.

Its cheaper, plus the relatively small battery used by a hybrid car like Volt can easily be charged overnight at 3.3kW.

To keep the compliance Spark EV costs down, it needs to use as many common parts as possible. That means 3.3. Plus, they made the Spark EV battery smaller, hence no need for a bigger charger.

The real test is whether GM can sell less than 1000 per year of this car for CARB-ZEV compliance, and my guess is they will. Why change the car then?
 
blownb310 said:
Thankfully, Honda's and Fiat's compliance EV's have 6.6 kW chargers.

However, those have no DC charger, while the Spark EV does. Strangely, the Fit EV has Chademo in Japan and they still didn't sell it this way in the US! I'd like a 6.6kW level 2, but a minimum requirement for me is a DC charger. After driving on multiple longer trips with EVs, it's obvious that the faster the car can accept a charge, the better off it is. I'm glad GM opted to spend their development dollars incorporating DC charging into their design criteria instead of just going with a 6.6kW level 2 and not having a DC charger.

Bryce
 
Just saw that "Engineers from Kia have developed the outstanding 27 kWh power pack to feature 192 lithium-ion polimer battery cells in eight modules"

Sorry, should have posted the link to the whole article.
http://www.kia.com/worldwide/about-kia/company/corporate-news-view.aspx?idx=718
 
19kw? So the new battery is smaller than the one in the 2014? I noticed the torque is down from 400 to 327. Hope they can keep the same range...
 
DDMan11 said:
19kw? So the new battery is smaller than the one in the 2014? I noticed the torque is down from 400 to 327. Hope they can keep the same range...

Maybe... It depends upon what is meant by 19kWh. The battery in the current version also has 19kWh of usable capacity, although it has also been stated that it has a full capacity of ~21kWh.

Although the motor torque has been reduced to 327 ft-lb from 402 ft-lb the final drive ratio has been increased to 3.87 from the existing 3.17. The torque at the axle is virtually the same, so acceleration should be the same; City driving range is expected to be improved.

kevin
 
blownb310 said:
Thankfully, Honda's and Fiat's compliance EV's have 6.6 kW chargers.

For many people, myself included, the 3.3kw charger is a total non-issue. Think of the stereotype of a little old lady that only drives to church on Sundays, change lady to man, and add atheism and you have a little old man who never drives to church.

I average maybe 10 miles a day. My Spark EV is configured to finish charging by 6AM, and it rarely ever starts charging before 4:30 AM, so it's no worries in my case.

Of course a 6.6kw charger would be good, but not a necessity.
 
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