GM to change course and make all electric vehicle for U.S. market

Spark Cutaway Credit: GM

GM is to change course and make all electric vehicle for the U.S. market. Have they gotten a message from low Volt sales?

(Technology Review)- General Motors plans to sell an electric version of the Spark, a mini-car that it currently sells outside the United States. GM will sell the gasoline version of the Spark in the U.S. starting next year, and will follow with the electric version in select U.S. markets and around the world in 2013. The electric Spark will be powered by batteries made by A123 Systems, based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

The car is a departure from GM's current strategy for electric vehicles, exemplified by the Chevrolet Volt. For short trips—about 35 miles—the Volt can run on battery power alone. For longer trips, a gasoline engine generates electricity to power the car. The range-extending gas engine is meant to address one of the main drawbacks of electric cars—their limited range on a charge. But adding an engine, and the complex transmission needed to coordinate power from the engine and electric motors, adds significantly to the vehicle's cost.