Is an 8 year warranty enough for the Chevy Volt?
How much of a factor is the battery warranty?
A long term worry?
Today, GM announced that the warranty on the Chevy Volt battery pack will be 8 years.
Considering the expense of the battery pack, and the newness of the technology, is 8 years enough?
Rather than the 5 year or 100,000 mile warranty that is GM’s standard, GM will offer an 8 year warranty on the Volt’s power pack to help ease buyer skepticism. Still, 8 years seems a little short.
After even a decade, the battery longevity of conventional hybrid cars is still a major concern for most potential consumers. The Volt’s battery costs, however, are much more significant and much less proven than those in today’s hybrids. Moreover, based on the history of cell phones and lithium batteries, long term performance is a very legitimate issue, especially through the first few generations.
Then again, there should be enough early adopters to suck up the limited production planned for the first few years of Volt sales regardless of the warranty. Nonetheless, if greater long term adoption is planned, some kind of increased warranty - whether covered by GM or individual states - will probably be required.
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