Friday, September 30, 2005

GM stepping up hybrid efforts, Lutz says

By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News

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MILFORD -- Although late getting started, General Motors Corp. is bolstering efforts to develop fuel-saving hybrid vehicles to improve its public image and to share in the goodwill Asian automakers are enjoying by having hybrids on the market, a top GM executive on Thursday.

"Right now, we're not where we ought to be (on hybrids)," said Bob Lutz, GM's vice chairman and product development chief, acknowledging that it's hurting consumer perceptions of the company.

GM expects to be a bigger player in hybrids in coming years, but it can't speed up the launch of its first true hybrid, a full-size SUV coming in 2007, Lutz said.

"For us to go out with a half-baked system just to get a few months out, I don't think would be prudent," Lutz said.

Detroit automakers are ramping up output of hybrid vehicles, which combine gas and electric motors to achieve better fuel economy than traditional combustion engines. Spurring the move is growing consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles as gas prices remain high.

While hybrids now represent less than 1 percent of U.S. auto sales, they are expected to grow in popularity in coming years as Nissan, Chrysler, Honda and BMW introduce models.

Last week, Ford Motor Co. said it will offer hybrid versions of more than half of the vehicles in its lineup by 2010.

But GM didn't see the importance of having hybrids on the market until two years ago when Toyota began having success with its Prius hybrid, Lutz said.

You can reach Brett Clanton at (313) 222-2612 or bclanton@detnews.com