António Vidigal / "Sharing Ideas"

General Motors has plans to introduce two more plug-in hybrid vehicles in next years, its chief executive, Daniel F. Akerson, said yesterday. They will be based on the Volt.

GM is ramping up the production of the Volt in 2011, from the planned 10,000 to 25,000 vehicles. The car will be available nationwide in the USA during 2012, when 60,000 are expected to be built.

A second generation of the Volt is under design and it can reduce the costs in such a way that the Volt may become profitable in 3 years.

Each of G.M.’s four brands — Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC — will have at least one electric or hybrid model.

Within 10 to 15 years, Mr. Akerson, who became G.M.’s chief executive in September and chairman on Jan. 1, said he hoped electric vehicles would account for at least 10 percent of G.M.’s sales.

G.M. sold already 326 Volts in December, to dealers in select markets. The car, which travels 25 to 50 miles on a fully charged battery before turning on a gasoline engine that generates additional power.

2011 will be a decisive year in electric mobility in Europe. The first deliveries of commercialized electric vehicle, from different manufacturers are to take place, and public recharging infrastructure are starting deployment.

Definitive benchmarks will soon be finalized with the publication of a “Green Paper”, the official report on the application of decrees stemming from Grenelle 2 that concern “plug-in access”, and European recommendations concerning the standardization of outlets for plugging into the electricity grid.

Finally, 2011 will see the roll-out of new electric mobility projects, new large-scale field testing for electric vehicles under real-life conditions, Mobi.E project in Portugal, Seine Aval Véhicules Electriques with Renault, the Franco-German infrastructure interoperability project), and the application of information from user feedback from programs launched in 2010 (PHV Toyota in Strasbourg, Mini E from BMW in Paris).