General Motors Corp said on Tuesday its all-electric Chevrolet Volt was on track for a launch in 2010 after the company’s board approved funding for production of the high-profile plug-in vehicle.
"The Chevy Volt is a go," GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner told reporters ahead of the company’s annual meeting with shareholders in Wilmington, Delaware.
"What we’re saying with this approval is that the GM management and board believe the technical goals of the Volt are not only achievable, but achievable generally within the time frame we previously outlined," Wagoner said.
The announcement on Tuesday represents the most detailed road map toward bringing the highly anticipated car to the market by the end of 2010, an ambitious timetable challenged by some of GM’s rivals.
A successful launch of the Volt is critical to GM as the top U.S. automaker struggles with a heavy lineup of gas-thirsty trucks and works to claim an edge in fuel-saving technology against Toyota Motor Corp and its market-leading Prius hybrid.
Wagoner said GM’s plan is to manufacture the Volt in its Hamtramck, Michigan plant. That depends on negotiations with state and local governments for tax incentives, he said.
GM remains committed to its target of getting the vehicles into showrooms by the end of 2010, said Wagoner.
Unlike gas-electric hybrids such as the Prius, which run on a system that twins battery power and a combustion engine, the Volt will be powered entirely by an electric motor and have a battery that can be charged through an ordinary power socket. The Volt’s on-board engine will be used only to power the battery on longer trips, GM has said.
No comments:
Post a Comment