General Motors Co. sets up a plan to build 500,000
electric vehicles a year by 2017, GM's head of global product
development said in Detroit this week.
GM will plan to meet that goal through a variety of technology
including plug-in electrics, pure electrics and hybrids that use the
company's eAssist technology, said Mary Barra, GM's senior vice
president of global product development.
She made the remarks via satellite feed from Detroit to media
gathered at GM's Electrification Experience press event in
Sausalito, California.
The company is on track to sell more than 50,000 vehicles
equipped with its electrification technologies in the United States
this year, Barra said.
GM is working on the next-generation propulsion technology that
powers the Volt and will power the Cadillac ELR to improve the "
system's value and efficiency in the not too distant future," Barra
said.
"In fact, we're looking at new ways we can use EREV (extended-
range electric vehicle) technologies to provide more innovative
options to our customers," the Detroit News quoted Barra as saying.
GM launched the plug-in Chevrolet Volt in late 2010. Sales
started off slow but this year have been gaining. The Volt set a
record in October, selling nearly 3,000 units. For the year through
October, GM has sold more than 19,000 Volts.
The company is also rolling out a new Chevy Spark Battery
Electric Vehicle next year and has announced plans to build a new
plug-in Cadillac ELR coupe with the same technology that powers the
Volt.
GM said it sold more than 26,000 vehicles equipped with eAssist
through October and the company plans for eAssist technology to be
on "hundred of thousands" of vehicles annually by 2017, Barra said.
