Whether you’re running a standard gas powered car or an electric vehicle extreme cold can cause havoc with your battery. Chevy’s upcoming hybrid vehicle, the Volt, is addressing this issue in a couple ways.

To ensure that the Chevy Volt battery maintains its range by having a system that keeps the battery warm while plugged in. It will also engage the range extending engine upon start up to bring the battery up to it’s optimal temperature before relying on it all-electric mode.

While people in cold climates might be concerned about their electric vehicle’s performance when the mercury dips, there has been research that shows that with some simple battery heating and insulation the impact of cold on range can be easily mitigated.

Environment Canada conducted studies that included a 1987 VW Jetta (converted to EV by REV Consultants). The Jetta was left in 0 degrees Fahrenheit for 42 hours then run. It experience a range loss of only 0.4 percent. Something I think that most electric and hybrid vehicle owners would find more than acceptable.

While some people and companies have voiced concerns about running electric and hybrid vehicles in extremely cold conditions it looks like the fears may be unfounded. And at least when you’re running an electric vehicle in the winter you won’t have to worry about your gas line freezing.