Your thoughts on future retro-fit to larger-capacity battery

[ezryder]

Hello Sparky's - I'm trying to justify buying a car I don't really need, but really want here. I'm almost there, though I have some logistical issues in the way, (my landlady seems reluctant to allow me to install a charger in/outside her garage, for one, and a little bit of range anxiety, for two - but I'm working on that).

Part of my thinking is that though the range isn't ideal - literally all my friends and relatives live 50-75 miles away - I'm hoping there will be option in the future to upgrade to a higher-capacity battery that will still fit in the EV. Sounds like they're doing it in the Tesla Roadster, but not sure if that means older ones, or not. Chevy may not have much incentive to do this, as it will take from new car sales, but... could we get lucky? Perhaps the battery going into the Sonic would magically fit the EV? Perhjaps with some small jiggering?

What are your thoughts there?

Thanks!
Eric

 

[xylhim]

Are you in California? If your land lady is giving you any problems with installing an EV charger, tell her about these laws just enacted:
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/09/01/california-renters-may-soon-install-ev-chargers-at-home/

I wouldn't count on Chevy supporting any battery upgrades for the spark, so you'll have to rely on the modding community for that, or try it yourself? I'd be interested in this for sure, but in the end, it may be best to wait to buy the 200 mile EV and lease the Spark now.

 

[TonyWilliams]

GM reduced the battery capacity for 2015, not increased.

The reason is that the previous 2014 Spark went "too far" to meet the absolute minimum range requirements for CARB-ZEV.

I'd go buy some lottery tickets. Much better odds than GM offering bigger batteries.