'This is not a science project and not a public relations ploy' - Jon Lauckner, a GM vice-president for global programme management
John Reed
General Motors has unveiled a plug-in hybrid car destined for mass production in a commitment to electric-vehicle technology by a company formerly accused of quashing it.
The Chevrolet Volt concept car can be recharged from a conventional wall socket and will run on battery power alone for up to 40 miles.
The Volt fulfils a commitment made by Rick Wagoner, GM's chairman and chief executive, at the Los Angeles motor show in November, when he identified electric vehicles as a "top priority" for GM. Although the Volt is a concept model, GM said it was intent on developing the car with global customers in mind. "This is not a science project and not a public relations ploy," said Jon Lauckner, a GM vice-president for global programme management.
Last year, GM was accused in a television documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?, of abandoning the EV1, a more rudimentary electric vehicle it developed in the 1990s.
Like other US carmakers, GM has been criticised in recent years for focusing on sports utility vehicles and other large, gas-guzzling cars. GM, in the midst of a turnround programme, is seeking to reposition itself as a technology leader and close the gap with competitors such as Toyota, which sells more hybrid cars than GM or Detroit's other two big automakers.
DaimlerChrysler and other motor manufacturers have developed prototypes of plug-in vehicles, but none are producing the cars on a large-scale.
However, GM would not give a target date for production of the Volt, and said it was still talking to battery companies that might act as suppliers.
The cost, weight and life cycle of plug-in cars' batteries - larger than those in conventional hybrid cars - have so far impeded their commercial production.
Conventional hybrids use electric power, but rely heavily on internal combustion engines. The Volt is also equipped with a fuel engine that acts as back-up, but uses no or little petrol over short distances.
Many consumers in the US, GM's largest market, say they want electric-powered vehicles, but balk at paying significantly higher prices for them.
Nick Zielinski, the vehicle's chief engineer, said the Volt would "have to be competitively priced". Hybrid and other electric cars account for only a small percentage of global sales.
However, industry analysts say a company's commitment to the technology can help burnish its "green" credentials and so boost sales of its other vehicles.
All carmakers in the US are facing increasingly stringent emissions standards. GM is working with BMW and DaimlerChrysler on developing a "two-mode" hybrid system for its SUVs and pick-up trucks.
- The Financial Times