Skip to main content

Does General Motors have a secret long-range EV testing program in Canada?

Chevy Spark EV on road
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Could General Motors be testing EVs with over a 300-mile charge range – in Canada? If recent reports are to be believed, GM has a fleet of secret EVs roving the Canadian countryside.

Auto Blog Green recently reported that the Windsor Star had a story detailing GM’s secret EV project up Canada-way. Auto Blog Green quoted J. Gary Smyth, General Motors’ executive director of Global Research and Development from the report as saying, “Today there are prototypes out there with 400 Watt-hours per kilogram.”

We looked through the original story and could not find such a claim. Regardless, such a claim doesn’t seem outlandish as GM invested $7-million into a battery company called Envia.

Envia reportedly has produced batteries with a 400-Watt/kg battery. With an energy density like that, EVs could go as far as 300 miles on a single charge, which is a far cry better than the average 80 miles that today’s all-electric vehicles are capable of.

Another benefit of Envia’s new composite high-energy battery is that it’d be pretty inexpensive, costing around $20,000. This could help make long distance EV travel financially accessible to the masses.

We’re not completely sold on the idea that GM has secret long-range EVs in Canada but we’ll dig into this a bit more and see what we find.

Editors' Recommendations

Nick Jaynes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…
Honda will use General Motors technology to build two electric cars
GM Ultium EV platform

Honda and General Motors are setting aside their differences to engineer electric vehicles together. Their announcement adds a bullet point to the growing list of alliances formed to offset the sky-high costs of developing battery technology.

The Japanese company will build two electric models on the Ultium platform its American partner introduced in March 2020. There's no word yet on what they'll look like, or what segment of the market they'll compete in. Anything is possible because the architecture -- the chassis, the battery pack, and the motor -- is being designed to be as modular as can be. It's not too far-fetched to assume at least one of the two EVs will be an SUV -- the segment is hugely popular right now, and it's going to get incredibly crowded in the early 2020s.

Read more
Why General Motors won’t be showing its next electric car at CES
Cadillac electric crossover

Previous

Next

Read more
2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV rated at 259 miles of range, outpacing most rivals
A red 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV.

The Chevrolet Bolt EV was a major milestone for electric cars. It was the first electric car to achieve more than 200 miles of range with a starting price below $40,000 -- opening up a much wider swath of the market. But with rivals catching up, Chevy has upped the ante. The 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV has an estimated range of 259 miles, up from the previous 238 miles. That puts the Bolt EV ahead of most competitors.

The 259-mile figure first appeared on the Environmental Protection Agency's fueleconomy.gov website, which lists the agency's electric range and fuel economy ratings, and was reported by Car and Driver before Chevy officially confirmed it. Power output is expected to remain the same, at 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque. Chevy previously said that will get the 2019 Bolt EV from 0 to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds.

Read more