Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

GM ready for 500,000 electric* vehicles by 2017

It's a big number, and one that needs a bit of a disclaimer.

Speaking (via satellite) to journalists at the General Motors Electrification Experience in San Francisco yesterday, Mary Barra, GM's senior vice president of global product development, announced that The General will have 500,000 "vehicles with electrification" by 2017. That's only five years away, and implies 100,000 such vehicles sold in each of the next five years. The asterisk is that Barra most certainly did not mean a half-million GM plug-in vehicles will be on the road by then, since electrification here includes everything from the small electric helpers in its eAssist vehicles to full electrics like the Chevrolet Spark EV. Using those parameters, GM will sell 50,000 vehicles "with some form of electrification" this year alone. As of the end of October, GM sold 19,309 Volts, and the final 2012 tally will likely be around 25,000.

But, the interesting aspect is that Barra says GM's future "focus" will be on plug-in technology. She didn't say that GM is leaving things like hydrogen and biofuels behind, just that, "The plug-in offers a unique opportunity to change the way people commute. Plug-based solutions will play a significant role in our technology portfolio going forward." The Volt, Barra said, is fulfilling its role as technology leader, spawning not just the Spark EV but also the planned production version of the Cadillac ELR concept shown above. Right now, only those privy to GM's secret future plans binders know how many "children" the Volt will have by 2017.

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/11/15...icles-by-2017/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Breaking news
GM builds 500,000 EV's and crushes them..., again!!