GM unveils its new electric hybrid

The first of General Motors’ new battery-powered car, the Chevy Volt, has rolled off the production line.

The company is to hire 1,000 engineers in a bid to lead the way in the electric vehicle market.

The Volt’s battery will allow it to run 50 kilometres with a back-up 1.4 litre engine giving an extra 500 kilometres.

Mark Reuss, the president of GM North America said at the launch:

“You can drive the car, it’s got a range over 300 miles with both gasoline and electricity and I mean if you want to just drive it every day like I have for the last two months on electricity it costs about $1.50 a day and you can plug that into any outlet in your garage. You don’t have to have a charging station.”

But at a cost of around 24,000 euros to the paying customer after tax credits, some industry observers say the cost may be a problem for GM. Karl Bauer, a senior analyst at Edmunds.com is among them.

“I think General Motors will face an uphill battle getting the vehicle sold to a wide range of buyers because of both the price and the advanced technology that isn’t immediately understandable,” he says.

The Volt tops Toyota’s Prius for fuel economy but is pipped by Nissan’s soon-to-be-released Leaf when it comes to getting mileage in electric mode.

The Volt will start selling in the US this month and will start arriving in European showrooms in 2012.

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