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The Volt is a plug-in range-extended electric vehicle with an on-board gasoline generator. It will have a large battery that stores power from your home electric outlet and which is connected to an electric motor. The electric motor directly propels the car. The battery can last for the first 40 miles. After that the on-board gasoline/E85 generator will power up to provide electricity for the motor. The time to recharge the battery through plug-in is 6.5 hours using a 110 volt (standard home) outlet, and about 3 hours if you have a 220 volt supply.
Current hybrids are called parallel hybrids. They use a small electric motor for low speed driving, but switch to a regular gas engine for acceleration and faster speed driving with the electric motor providing enhancement, hence both engines work side by side or in parallel. The Volt is a series vehicle meaning only the electric motor powers the car at all times. The gas engine is just a generator, making electric to keep the batteries in a steady state of charge after 40 miles. This arrangement gives a driving range of up to 400 miles on a full (8 gallon) tank of gas.
Another source of on-board battery charging, other than the gas generator, is through regenerative braking. This means when the car is slowed, the kinetic or motion-based energy will be recaptured as electricity and sent to be stored in the battery.
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