GM speeding up hybrid roll out with new global team

General Motors is establishing a new global engineering team dedicated to the development of its next generation of electrically-driven vehicles. The global organization will have teams working around the clock in locations such as North America, Germany and China, and whose main focus will be to speed up the launch of a new range of hybrid and extended-range electric vehicles.

The new engineering team will develop vehicles using a variety of propulsion systems including petrol-electric hybrids as well as the E-Flex architecture. Some of the cars currently in development include a new range of E-Flex plug-in hybrids, Chevrolet Tahoe and Silverado 2-Mode models, a next-gen Chevrolet Malibu hybrid and 2-Mode plug-in versions of the Saturn Vue, Aura, GMC Yukon and the Cadillac Escalade.

Some in the industry have criticized GM’s hybrid promises as nothing but a publicity stunt, designed to grab a slice of the ‘green’ media market. This latest development indicates GM is heading in a very production-oriented direction with these new hybrid vehicles.