General Motors responds to the controversial Carnegie Mellon University study

Carnegie Mellon University published last week a study claiming that some plug-in hybrids, citing the Chevrolet Volt as an example, would not be as efficient as advertised. According to this study, the batteries used in these models cost too much for the range they offer (around 64 kilometres in the case of the Volt), and it would be better to use other smaller ones that would deliver a better efficiency-to-price ratio.

However, Jon Lauckner, vice president of General Motors’ global programme management, has responded to these claims by arguing that the study did not take the real costs of the batteries into account and overstated them. He adds that the $7,500 tax credit offered by the US Federal Government for buying this type of hybrid is enough to consider the efficiency-to-price ratio good. In fact, if the batteries were smaller, this credit would be reduced, and therefore the incentives for buying plug-in hybrids would be lower, which would hurt sales.

Source | Motor Authority