Lear To Make Home Chargers for GM's Volt
By John O'Dell August 18, 2010
General Motors has selected mainline parts and components maker Lear Corp. to build the home charging stations that it will sell to Chevrolet Volt customers who want the convenience of faster 240-volt charging for the extended-range plug-in car.
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Generic home charging station from Lear Corp. showcases company's sleek design. Lear is developing home chargers for several automakers including GM.
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Lear also makes the on-board chargers for the Volt, as well as the Volt's wiring systems and the 120-volt portable charging cords that will be supplied as standard equipment with the cars, so adding the home charging station rounds out the suite and keeps it all in the family.
Lear, which is developing a number of components for hybrids and electric-drive vehicles said it has been working with GM on Volt charger development for about two years.
Lear has other home charger clients as well, including Daimler and Fisker Automotive.
GM hasn't announced pricing for the Volt home charger stations but several independent charger manufacturers have priced 240-volt home units at between $1,000 and $2,500, plus installation.
Unlike 120-volt cords that are self contained and can be carried in the trunk of a car, the 240-volt systems must be hard-wired in a permanent installation.
GM has said that federal incentive programs will enable it to offer them at no cost to about 4,600 early Volt buyers in areas identified by automakers and the Department of Energy as early adopter regions. The regions are in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Washington state and Washington, D.C.
The free charger programs are bring coordinated by two California-based companies, Coulomb Technologies and ECOtality, under the names ChargePoint America, and The EV Project.
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