tech article 12-3

GM hiring to push electric effort beyond Volt 

General Motors said today it would hire 1,000 engineers and researchers in Michigan over the next two years to develop more electric cars and hybrids as it launched its battery-powered Chevrolet Volt. The Volt is designed to run for 35 miles on a full charge of its 400-pound lithium ion battery pack supplied by a unit of Korea's LG Chem.

After that, the car is powered by a 1.4-liter engine that gives drivers an estimated 379 miles of driving range.

Some critics had questioned whether the Volt would survive GM's restructuring in bankruptcy in 2009 because of its high cost and the low profit margin on the first shipments of the $41,000 car.

GM North American chief Mark Reuss compared the development of the Volt to a NASA "moon shot." He said the effort, including more than $700 million in new investment, had "created the new soul of GM."

GM will begin shipping the Volt in limited numbers in December. The automaker plans to expand shipments of the Volt to more markets in 2011 and will also start to export the vehicle, Akerson said.

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