DETROIT, July 14 (UPI) -- General Motors Co. will warranty plug-in hybrid electric Chevrolet Volt car batteries for eight years or 100,000 miles, the U.S. automaker said Wednesday.

The industry-best warranty is intended to ease shopper concerns the Volt's battery will die too soon, especially with U.S. drivers starting and driving cars in all sorts of weather extremes, Time magazine observed.

The warranty also exceeds by three years powertrain warranties offered on GM vehicles.

The Volt battery is designed to work, while plugged in, at temperatures as low as minus 13 degrees and as high as 122 degrees, GM said.

The warranty will cover 161 battery components and the battery's thermal management system, charging system and electric-drive components, The Detroit News reported.

The expensive, 400-pound, T-shaped battery is made up of 288 lithium-ion cells.

It will drive the Volt an average 40 miles on a charge, within the daily commute for three out of four Americans, GM said.

After 40 miles, a small four-cylinder gasoline internal combustion engine will create electricity on board to extend the battery's range to more than 300 miles, GM said in introducing the car.

The Volt, expected to cost about $40,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit, will be sold in California, New York City, Washington, Austin, Texas, and Michigan starting in November, GM said. It will be available in New Jersey, Connecticut and the rest of Texas in early 2011.

It will be sold in the rest of the United States and in Canada in 2012.

A month after the Volt launch, Nissan Motor Co. will introduce its all-electric Leaf, a five-door compact it says will average 100 miles on a charge.

Leaf sales are to begin in the United States, Japan, the Netherlands and Portugal, with cars available in Britain and Ireland in February, the Japanese automaker said.

Global market availability is planned for 2012, Nissan said.