Electric cars are back, says GM.

I was in the gym at lunchtime and while channel-surfing during my workout I was fortunate enough to catch CNBC's interview with Rick Wagoner, CEO at General Motors. He was talking at the Los Angeles car show about GM's new plans to build electric vehicles.
For those of you who have seen 'Who Killed the Electric Car' it seems GM has done another about-turn. This will come as too late for former EV1 drivers. But is welcome news anyway.

"Stung by criticism that it conspired to kill the electric car, the world’s largest automaker said it plans to make a plug-in electric hybrid version of the Saturn Vue Green Line, with double the fuel efficiency of any current sport utility vehicle," CNBC reports.
GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner called the plug-in hybrid technology a “top priority” for the automaker. “The technological hurdles are real, but we believe they are also surmountable,” he told reporters at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.

The Saturn Vue Green Line is GM’s first hybrid in the U.S. market, running on gasoline and a battery that is charged while it is moving. GM also plans to expand the hybrid system to the Saturn Aura Green Line and Chevrolet Malibu sedans in 2007. The GMC Yukon hybrid will have 25 percent better fuel economy than the gasoline version, GM said.

The effort is part of a GM effort to demonstrate how it is investing some of the $9 billion saved through job cuts and plant closures in hybrid technology. GM says it recognizes that to change consumer attitudes about its brands, it has to address criticism that it has not done enough to drive advances in fuel economy. In an interview with CNBC Wagoner said GM's decision to opt for electric cars was a response to the "future of energy supply" and the need to diversify away from gasoline.

Asked about consumer attitudes, he said; "I think the public is ready for the next generation of automobiles. We need to supply their needs."

Wagoner said improvements in lithium battery technology were "impressive" and were well ahead of hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Wagoner said the company also planned vehicles that run on a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, as well as fuel-cell vehicles, which use hydrogen to create electricity and emit only water. All versions of GM's Hummer SUVs will offer an engine powered by bio-fuels within three years.

Click here for the CNBC report, plus Phil LeBeau's interview with Wagoner.

- David Adams

Comments

When will GM stop spending millions to lobby against fuel economy standards?

Let's get higher mpg standards in place, and then automakers can use whatever technology they want to meet those standards.