In an effort to lure early adopters who might hesitate at dropping more than $30,000 on a mass-market electric car, General Motors said on Wednesday that it would guarantee the battery on its forthcoming Chevy Volt for eight years or 100,000 miles  better than the typical five-year or 100,000-mile warranty it typically offers for the powertrain on its conventional cars.

The warranty will cover all 161 battery components, according to Tony DiSalle, the marketing director for the Volt, as well as other electric-drive components and the battery’s liquid thermal management system, which heats or cools the battery while charging in a variety of weather conditions.

Battery warranties within the nascent electric vehicle market have been a matter of much speculation  not least because consumers familiar with lithium-ion technology in cellphones, computer laptops and other devices learned long ago that the batteries can be finicky, lose their charge and eventually die.

“Everybody has been sensitized to batteries and battery-life issues,” said Philip G. Gott, director of automotive consulting for IHS Global Insights, a market research firm. “You don’t want to be stuck with a four-year-old car that needs $4,000 worth of work.”