We are building fuel-efficient vehicles that fit our customers’ needs and lifestyles.
Summary
- 12 GM vehicles with at least 30 mpg highway
- The world’s leading FlexFuel vehicle producer
- Investment in advanced biofuel developers
- B20 biodiesel, compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles
- Two-mode hybrid vehicles and eAssist light electrification technology
- Extended range electric vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera
- Fuel cell development
Our vision is to design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles. And we’re committed to doing that with our customers and the environment in mind.
Our engineers are reinventing the automobile, developing advanced technologies that lead to improved fuel economy, less emissions and a reduced dependence on petroleum. Whether you’re a student shopping for an economic subcompactor a farmer needing a powerful yet efficient pickup, you’ll find vehicle offerings as diverse as our customers. That’s why we don’t have bids on just one winning technology. You can choose from vehicles powered by gas, diesel, biofuels and electricity.
Our goal is to put you in a vehicle that not only satisfies your needs, but provides a fun driving experience. We look at what customers want and marry technologies that help them get it.
Fuel Economy
We have some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in our history on the road today. To name a few:
- The Chevrolet Volt (EPA estimated 94 MPGe electric; 35 city, 40 hwy mpg gas)
- Our hybrid Silverado pickup (EPA estimated mpg 20 city, 23 hwy)
- Buick LaCrosse with eAssist technology (EPA estimated mpg 25 city, 36 hwy)
We’re committed to combining fuel efficiency with performance and utility. In the market for a vehicle? Choose from 12 models with at least an EPA-estimated 30 mpg hwy, including the car with the best highway mileage of any gas engine in America, the 42 mpg-hwy Chevrolet Cruze Eco (EPA estimate).
We’re consistently improvinggasoline-powered vehicles with technologies like direct fuel injection, active fuel management, variable valve timing and turbocharging. We’re also focusing on mass reduction, aerodynamics, lightweight materials, tire construction and other technologies to make our vehicles more efficient.
Chevrolet is sharing its fuel-efficiency technologies and environmental progress in the form of a label on all of its U.S. 2013 model-year vehicles. This first-of-its-kind EcologicTM Label lets you see some of the environmental features of the vehicle relating to manufacturing, driving and recycling. Easy for us to say? Each claim is audited by Two Tomorrows, an independent third-party sustainability agency.
Biofuels
We’re committed to alternative fuels and believe biofuels are the most significant near-term solution to reduce petroleum dependence andcarbon dioxide emissions. We’re the global leader in producing FlexFuel vehicles that operate on both gasoline and E85 ethanol, and offer more of these models than anyone else. More than 7 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road globally are GM cars and trucks. In comparison to gas, ethanol burns cleaner, emitting 21% less CO2.
Can you imagine your vehicle running on organic matter like feedstock or waste? We’ve invested in two advanced biofuel developers—Coskata and Mascoma—who are developing technologies that turn agricultural and municipal solid waste into ethanol. We’reinvesting to speed commercialization of these fuels that are better for the environment andreduce foreign oil dependence. Customers also can fill up on B20 biodiesel in any of our 2012 vans and heavy-duty pickups, or choose Chevrolet and GMC vans powered by compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas. Near the end of the year, customers will be able to choose CNG bi-fuel Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks that seamlessly transition between CNG and gasoline fuel systems.
Hybrids
Hybrids, like our Chevrolet Silverado and Tahoe, GMC Sierra and Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade, function with both an electric motor and gasoline engine. Their Two-Mode hybrid system saves fuel with an all-electric launch, low-speed electric-only propulsion, and electric assist during demanding driving, acceleration, and towing. The technology recaptures energy during braking, and allows the engine to shut off during deceleration and at stops. All of these full-size vehicles have an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 20 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway.
Our new eAssist technology is alight electrification solution that enhances fuel efficiency up to 25% when paired with our existing engines. Featured on the 2012 Buick LaCrosseand Regal (both with an EPA estimated mpg 25 city, 36 hwy), and 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco (EPA estimated mpg 25 city, 37 hwy), the electric motor recaptures energy and shuts off fuel during braking. To further increase efficiency, it stops and restarts the engine in stop-and-go city driving. An onboard lithium-ion battery provides an electric boost in certain conditions to improve MPG.
Electric Vehicles with Extended Range
We believe electrically driven vehicles offer the best long-term solution for energy-efficient transportation, and we’re committed to delivering practical, environmentally conscious vehicles that are fun to drive.
Our Voltec technology in the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera has some of our customers going a month between gasoline fill-ups if their daily commute is under about 35 miles round trip. The high-tech propulsion system delivers an EPA-estimated 35 miles of electric driving. If you deplete the electric charge, a gas-powered engine generator seamlessly kicks in to add another 340 miles before you need to refuel or recharge. The EPA estimates on the Volt are 95 MPGe when running on electricity, and 35 MPG city or 40 MPG hwy when running on gas.
Volt owners have travelled more than 65 million miles since the vehicle launched late last year. Roughly two-thirds of those miles were powered by grid electricity.
We produce our own batteries in the largest and most technologically advanced battery development facility in the United States. And, we’ll soon become the first major U.S. automaker to design and manufacture electric motors—a core technology for hybrid and electric vehicles.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles
Our engineers are at work exploring advanced futuretechnologies like fuel cell vehicles. We’re at the forefront of this innovation that makes vehicles that release water vapor instead of CO2 emissions from the tailpipe.
Our customers drove more than 2.3 million miles in our hydrogen fuel cell vehicletest fleet—the world’s largest market test. This real-world feedback allows us to improve the technology, further reduce its size and increase durability, and assist in deploying a fueling infrastructure so the vehicles can be ready for mass production by 2020.
