Thursday, 6 August 2009 at 18:02, Bloomberg
General Motors Co. plans what it says may be the first plug-in electric sport-utility vehicle, a 2011 Buick model using the same technology planned for the Chevrolet Volt.
The Buick model will be introduced as a standard SUV in 2010, followed by a plug-in version the next year for use in commercial fleets, according to a draft of a speech to be given today at a Traverse City, Michigan, conference by Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman of global product development. A version of the Buick plug-in for individual customers would follow shortly.
GM, which is 61 percent owned by the U.S. Treasury after a U.S.-backed bankruptcy, is introducing environmentally friendly models as part of a push to meet a federal requirement to improve fuel economy 35 percent by 2016. The Volt, which will be powered by batteries that can be recharged through a household electrical outlet, is scheduled to go on sale in November 2010.
The front-wheel-drive Buick model will use battery packs supplied by Compact Power Inc., a unit of Seoul-based LG Chem Ltd., according to Stephens’ speech. Both companies also supply battery technology to the Volt.
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