Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors, used the recent shareholder meeting in Wilmington, Del., as a platform to announce several new steps in the Detroit automaker's commitment towards reintroducing an electric vehicle.
Two new contracts, designed to speed up electric battery production for the Chevrolet Volt concept car, were awarded to Compact Power and Continental Automotive Systems. Both these companies will design and test lithium-ion batteries for the Volt.
In addition to the Volt, GM has built or has plans to introduce several other hybrid cars, including a diesel hybrid electric system for large city buses, hybrid models of the Saturn Vue and Aura, new hybrid versions of the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs, which feature the 2-Mode hybrid system that improves fuel efficiency by an estimated 25 percent.
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