GM says Chevy Volt electric car gets 230 miles per gallon in city

DETROIT -- General Motors said Tuesday its Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car should get 230 miles per gallon of gasoline in city driving, more than four times the mileage of the current champion, the Toyota Prius.

The Volt is powered by an electric motor and a battery pack with a 40-mile range. After that, a small internal combustion engine kicks in to generate electricity for a total range of 300 miles. The battery pack can be recharged from a standard home outlet.

GM is marketing the 230 mpg figure following early tests using draft guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for calculating the mileage of extended range electric vehicles.

The EPA guidelines, developed with guidance from automakers, figure that cars like the Volt will travel more on straight electricity in the city than on the highway. If a person drives the Volt less than 40 miles, in theory they could go without using gasoline.

Highway mileage estimates — which are generally higher than city ones — for the Volt have yet to be released using the EPA's methodology.

"We are confident the highway (mileage) will be a triple-digit composite," GM CEO Fritz Henderson said.

If the figure is confirmed by the EPA, which does the tests for the mileage posted on new car door stickers, the Volt would be the first car to exceed triple-digit gas mileage.

EPA said Tuesday that it has not tested a Volt "and therefore cannot confirm the fuel economy values claimed by GM." The agency said it applauded "GM's commitment to designing and building the car of the future — an American made car that will save families money, significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create good-paying American jobs."

GM has produced about 30 Volts so far and is making 10 a week, Henderson said during a presentation of the vehicle at the company's technical center in the Detroit suburb of Warren.

Henderson said charging the Volt will cost about 40 cents a day, at approximately 5 cents per kilowatt hour.