GM delivers 100,000th Chevy Volt in the US, fleet racked up 1.5 billion electric miles on total of 2.5 billion

GM announced today that it surpassed the 100,000 mark for Chevy Volt sales in the US – making the Volt the first plug-in vehicle to achieve the milestone. Interestingly, GM broke down the EV miles vs Gas miles driven by the fleet since its introduction in 2010.

The company says that Volt owners have driven “almost 1.5 billion miles in EV mode of a total 2.5 billion cumulative miles.”

It’s an interesting statistic, which shows that the Volt successfully replaced with electric miles 1.5 billion miles that would have normally been gas-powered, but it also highlights the need for fully electric vehicles since GM’s Volt fleet still used gas for an important 40% of its total mileage. Hopefully, the percentage will go down with the increase in electric range that came with the 2016 Volt, which now has a fully electric EPA-rating of 53 miles.

For comparison, Tesla’s global fleet of roughly 150,000 vehicles travelled over 2.6 billion electric miles. While the fleet is slightly bigger, the Volt has been on the road for 2 more years.

Nonetheless, GM estimates that its Volt fleet saved nearly 58 million gallons of fuel compared to the average gas consumption.

Earlier this year, Seth tested the Volt 2017 for a week – you can read his review in the form of a ‘diary’ starting with ‘Day 1’.

Here’s the full press release:

CHEVROLET VOLT ACHIEVES 100,000 SALES IN THE UNITED STATES

First Model to Reach Milestone for Plug-In Vehicles

DETROIT – Chevrolet is announcing the sale of 100,000 Volts, giving those owners a no-compromise electric driving experience with a plug-in vehicle offering an EPA-estimated 53 miles of electric vehicle range and a total range of 420 miles between gasoline fill-ups or full recharges*.

“The Chevrolet Volt delivers not just a fun driving experience behind the wheel, but has become the first vehicle with plug-in electrification technology to truly become mainstream,” said Steve Majoros, director of marketing, Chevrolet Cars and Crossovers. “Not only is the Volt a class-creator, it serves as the foundation of a Chevrolet electric family that will soon add the first long-range, affordable EV available to customers across the U.S., the Chevrolet Bolt EV.”

How much of an impact do 100,000 Volts out on the road make? As it turns out, quite a bit. Since sales of the Chevrolet Volt began, owners have driven almost 1.5 billion miles in EV mode of a total 2.5 billion cumulative miles. Based on an average new car fuel economy of 25.3 miles per gallon, Volt drivers have saved nearly 58 million gallons of fuel. That is enough gasoline to fill more than 87 competition-size swimming pools.

The second-generation Volt improves on the pioneering work of the original, adding additional electric-only range, improved fuel economy of 106 mpg-e and 42 mpg, and a chassis that is lighter than the original. The second-generation Volt is 220 pounds lighter than the first-generation and delivers 19 percent stronger 0-30 mph electric acceleration while providing 39 percent greater pure EV range. Based on Chevrolet data, Chevrolet expects the average 2017 Volt driver who fully charges the car regularly to travel more than 1,000 miles between gas fill ups.*

The Volt offers industry-leading smartphone integration, with support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with an onboard, available OnStar 4G LTE connection—features that will leave the next 100,000 owners of the Chevrolet Volt even more satisfied.

*EPA estimated 53-mile EV range based on 106 mpg-e combined city/highway (electric) and 42 mpg combined city/highway (gas).  Actual range varies with conditions.