 In April 2008 General Motors started extensive battery testing . In two years the carmaker put the battery packs to the equivalent of 150 @,@ 000 real @-@ world miles ( 240 @,@ 000 km ) and ten years of use . The durability of the battery pack was tested for a broad range of extreme ambient conditions including a shaker table to simulate potholes and a thermal chamber , to simulate temperatures varying from 116 ° F ( 47 ° C ) , typical of the Southwest deserts , to − 40 ° F ( − 40 ° C ) typical of the Alaska tundra . In April 2008 the lithium @-@ ion battery pack was placed in Chevrolet Malibus fitted with the Volt powertrain to be used as test mules for further real @-@ world testing . In October 2008 General Motors chose CPI ( LG Chemical ) to provide the battery systems for the first production version of the Volt . In July 2008 General Motors confirmed that a non @-@ turbocharged , 1 @.@ 4 L 4 @-@ cylinder engine would be used as the range extender , and that the intention was to build it in Flint , Michigan . In April 2009 , General Motors allowed journalists to test the Volt powertrain in the body of Chevrolet Cruze sedans used as test mules which lacked the range @-@ extending generator at the GM Technical Center in Warren , Michigan . 
