The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech is participating in the 2011-14 EcoCAR 2: Plugging in to the Future, an advanced vehicle competition series sponsored by General Motors Co. and the U.S. Department of Energy. The purpose of this competition is to re-engineer a stock vehicle into a more efficient vehicle while maintaining consumer acceptability.
In the early summer of 2012, a vehicle was shipped from GM to the Virginia Tech campus so the team could start work on the second phase of the competition.
During the year one, the team selected a vehicle architecture that would result in the most efficient vehicle that will best fit consumers' needs. In the second year, the team's work will consist of integrating year-one designs into a functional vehicle, using the car recently delivered to campus. For the final year of the competition, the team will refine, test, and optimize the designs in order to meet all of the goals.