GM urges longer-term support for electric vehicles

February 26, 2010

GM's Dr Alan Taub giving evidence this week

General Motors has called for longer-term support for the move towards high-volume production levels of electric vehicles.

And, the company has urged greater investment in home-based recharging technology if electric vehicles are to become commonplace.

In a hearing before the US Senate committee currently preparing this year’s Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, the motor manufacturer said mass-production of electric cars still required “two to three cycles of learning”.

Dr Alan Taub, who leads GM’s worldwide R&D efforts on advanced technology, said his company was grateful for recent federal Recovery Act support, but that short-term tax credits wouldn’t be enough to get beyond first generation technology.

The usual federal programs that target technical milestones that do not reach as far as high-production levels would not be enough.

More sustained support will be needed to get the technology to a state where it can be affordable to most people, Dr Taub said.

Speaking on Tuesday (February 23), the GM Vice President of Global Research and Development said: “Transitioning to the point where the technology can be used in enough cars to achieve the necessary economies of scale to make it affordable is a large challenge.

“This will require more than just consumer tax credits for new technologies. It really means deeper re-thinking of our efforts to accelerate the deployment of advanced automotive technologies.”

Chevy Volt

GM is launching its Chevrolet Volt electric-hybrid vehicle this November, starting with the greater Los Angeles area, Detroit, and Washington, DC.

Aimed at the suburban and urban market, the 5-door car saloon would have a 40-mile range on electric, before a gas engine extends its range to 300 miles.

The company is expecting to build “thousands” in the first year, building to “tens of thousands” in following years.

GM is also planning a larger vehicle, turning its Chevrolet Equinox SUV into a fuel-cell electric vehicle, which could use hydrogen as an electricity store rather than batteries.

As well as more support for the vehicle technology, Dr Taub urged the committee to include support for charging and refilling infrastructure for electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

In the Los Angeles area for example, he suggested that 40 new hydrogen filling stations would be a “game-changer”.

For electric vehicles, the GM research and development VP said support had to be targeted first of all at making it possible to charge vehicles at home.

Focus any funding for EV infrastructure on making home recharging easy” - Dr Alan Taub, GM

Dr Taub said: “Focus any funding for EV infrastructure on making home recharging easy for the consumer. This should be followed by workplace charging.

“Public charging facilities will become more important over time, but if we do not make home chargers work for the consumer, we are not going to get EVs to a scale where public charging makes sense.”