When you’re showing off the next big thing in the auto world, why not choose the auto world’s biggest market? That was GM’s strategy when the company showed off the Chevrolet Volt MPV5 concept—a versatile multipurpose vehicle that uses the same high-tech electric powertrain as the Chevrolet Volt—at the recent Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.
The MPV5 wears a sleek, aerodynamic body that was specifically designed to achieve high fuel efficiency, leveraging a sculpted front fascia, closed grille and precision-engineered front air-dam. Combined with the vehicle’s bold wheel arches and detailed liftgate treatment, it makes for a sophisticated look that also provides clues to the crossover’s technologically sophisticated powertrain.
That body is also significantly bigger than the Volt’s, for even more versatility. The Volt MPV5 was developed to hold five passengers in added comfort, and its second row of flip/fold seats can more than double available cargo room from about 30 cu. ft. to more than 60.
And getting back to that powertrain, it’s the system’s adaptability that’s the real key to the Volt MPV5.
“The Volt MPV5 concept demonstrates the flexibility of the Voltec propulsion system, which can produce enough electric power to propel a range of vehicles, from a compact sedan like the Volt to a crossover like the Volt MPV5 concept,” said Doug Parks, GM’s global vehicle line executive and global vehicle chief engineer for electric vehicles at GM.
The Voltec setup relies on a T-shaped, 16-kW lithium-ion battery pack that provides the Volt MPV5 with up to 32 miles of electric-only driving. But that’s just for starters: The system also includes a 1.4-liter internal-combustion generator, which runs on gasoline and can sustain the battery’s charge for a total of 300 miles of combined driving.
Even better news: Although GM hasn’t announced production plans for the Volt MPV5, the Volt sedan is slated to become the first extended-range electric vehicle to hit the U.S. market when it goes on sale later this fall.
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