2012 Chevy Volt drives 400,000 miles with little battery degradation

Racking up 400,000 miles on any car is impressive, even more so when you do it in about five years. Well, GM employee Erick Belmer just crossed that threshold with his 2012 Chevrolet Volt. While the majority of the miles were fueled by gasoline, according to Inside EVs, 141,795 of those miles were running on pure electricity. The most notable aspect of this feat is that Belmer's Volt has experienced negligible battery degradation.

Belmer's daily commute is 220 miles. That explains how his Volt racked up more miles in five years than most cars will see in their entire lifetimes. Users at Volt Stats share charging and trip data. His was the first Volt to cross the 200,000- and 300,000-mile mark. Unsurprisingly, Belmer leads the site in both total and pure electric miles driven. Because his commute forces the Volt to use so much gasoline, his lifetime MPG, MPGe and EV percentage are pretty low. Still, it's a massive achievement for the car.

Belmer says he gets 9.2 kWh per charge, down from the original 9.7 kWh. Yes, it's lower than before, but the car's range hasn't really suffered. If he keeps pushing, he's likely to be the first Volt owner to cross the million-mile threshold.