GM
Aims to Build 500,000 Electric-Technology Vehicles a Year
General Motors Co aims
by 2017 to buld up to 500,000 vehicles a year that include some form of
electric power in the engine, including cars like the Chevrolet Volt plug-in
hybrid, a top executive said on Wednesday.
inShareBy Ben Klayman
SAN
FRANCISCO (Reuters) -
General Motors Co aims by 2017 to buld up to 500,000
vehicles a year that include some form of electric power in the engine,
including cars like the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, a top executive said on
Wednesday.
GM has
made rolling out cars with electrical technology -- including its eAssist
system that boosts fuel efficiency in gasoline-powered cars -- a central part
of its global strategy, global product development chief Mary Barra told
reporters.
"Our
plans call for producing up to 500,000 vehicles annually with some form of
electrification globally by 2017," she said via satellite.
That
would be slightly more than 5 percent of GM's global sales last year of about 9
million.
The
forecast includes plug-in hybrids; pure electric vehicles like the Chevy Spark
EV that will go on sale next summer; and eAssist system, which GM offers on
several vehicles, she said. GM introduced the Volt in the fall of 2010.
So far
this year, GM has sold more than 50,000 vehicles that include electrification
technologies in the United States, with eAssist accounting for slightly more
than half that total. Barra did not break down how much of GM's target would be
cars that do not include a gasoline engine, but she said plug-in technology
will remain central to GM's strategy.
"A
major focus for GM's electrification strategy will center on the plug,"
she said. "We have every intention of maintaining our leadership position
in plug-in vehicles."
Barra
said GM is not turning its back on traditional hybrid or hydrogen fuel-cell
vehicles.
GM
plans call for its eAssist system, which boosts fuel efficiency as much as 25
percent in some gasoline-powered vehicles, to be on "hundreds of
thousands" of vehicles annually by 2017, she said.
Barra
said the Spark EV minicar, which will take on Nissan Motor Co's Leaf, will be a
global vehicle, launching first in select markets in the United States and
South Korea before moving to other countries. GM will sell the car, rather than
limiting access to lease deals, she added.
"We're
not building the Spark EV to check a regulatory box," Barra said.
The
EV's battery will be made by A123 Systems Inc, which filed for bankruptcy last
month.
The
rollout of the Spark continues GM's push to seize the mantle of "greenest
automaker in the world" from Toyota Motor Corp, which makes the popular
Prius hybrid car. Toyota also sells a plug-in version of the Prius as well.
Chief
Executive Dan Akerson has driven GM more aggressively toward EVs. Efforts have
centered on rolling out the plug-in technology in a broader range of vehicles
to recoup its investment in the money-losing Volt.
In
August 2011, GM said it would build a Cadillac ELR luxury coupe based on the
Volt's plug-in hybrid technology. In October, the company said the ELR will
begin in late 2013 at the same plant that makes the Volt.
GM,
like other automakers, also needs more fuel-efficient cars as the industry
pushes toward more stringent U.S. requirements that will be in place by 2025.
Ford
expects hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs will account for as much as a quarter
of its global sales by 2020. GM's smaller rival said in August it was
accelerating development of its hybrid and electric vehicles by bringing design
and production of key parts in-house.
The No.
2 U.S. automaker, which has launched the Focus EV and C-Max Energi plug-in
hybrid car this year, said it will spend $135 million to design parts for its
next wave of EVs and double its battery testing capabilities by next year.
President
Barack Obama's administration has been a strong proponent of electric vehicles
like the Volt and set a goal of reaching 1 million battery-powered vehicles on
the road by 2015.
Analysts
are less optimistic as prices remain too high for EVs, and driving range and
wide availability of public battery charging stations remain the chief concerns
for consumers. Lux Research estimates the number will actually be fewer than
200,000, and Boston Consulting Group has predicted EVs and plug-in hybrids will
make up only 5 percent of the market within eight years.
However,
Elon Musk, the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc, said on Monday that
Obama's re-election would likely mean a continuation of the U.S. government's
policy promoting EVs. He said he would back any efforts to boost federal tax
credits for electric cars to as much as $10,000 from $7,500 now and added Tesla
would install fast-charging stations on major U.S. routes by the end of next
year.
(Reporting
By Ben Klayman in San Francisco; Editing by David Gregorio)
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