GM’s all-electric car may hit showrooms in 2010

General Motors is currently working on production of the Chevrolet Volt with the vehicle ready for 2010. The Volt is an all-electric car that will be the world’s largest automaker’s answer to the growing demand for cleaner cars. . Reuters reported that GM is already working on plans to produce a working prototype by the end of this year. Bob Lutz, GM product chief and vice president, said the automaker has already set a goal for Chevrolet Volt production in 2010.

The soon-to-be-mass-produced electric car will be based on the concept vehicle that General Motors unveiled in January this year. While the automaker has already set a goal for the vehicle’s production, there are still some design issues they need to work on. Lutz said they are more concerned with whether lithium-ion batteries can be developed while keeping production costs low to make them affordable for car buyers. Another concern Lutz noted is whether these lithium-ion batteries can safely power a vehicle. The automaker is already taking steps to address such issues. General Motors will take an unusual step with respect to the development process of the Volt: It will open the development process to the media.

Apart from the problem mentioned above that needs to be addressed, Lutz is still not sure that the company can achieve its goal. “We have set a comprehensive production goal in 2010. Whether we can achieve it or not, this continues to be an unpredictable schedule for us,” Lutz said.

It should be remembered that the concept car was exhibited at the Detroit Auto Show last January of this year. At the event, General Motors unveiled its plans for the all-electric vehicle to the public. However, during that auto show, GM did not announce a set production schedule. As a result, critics questioned GM’s effort to produce an electric car. Some went on to say that General Motors is not really going to mass produce the vehicle and is only interested in the amount of attention the concept vehicle has generated.

In response to these accusations, Lutz said that: “Competitors who write this as a public relations exercise will be brutally surprised.” It’s well documented that cleaner cars have met with wide public acceptance and support, and that’s reason enough for an automaker to produce a fully electric vehicle. When the Volt hits showrooms, we can only hope it has the same high-quality performance as other GM cars.