Daily Auto News Chevy Volt Will Appear First in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco
Daily Auto News
The Chevy Volt will be sold first in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, selected for their energy infrastructure and political hospitality toward green cars, according to a new plan General Motors unveiled yesterday at the Washington Auto Show.
Autoblog Green reports, “GM has been looking at which cities are the most prepared for and has people who are the most interested in a plug-in vehicle, and singled out San Francisco and Washington, D.C. as two locations where the General is focusing its roll-out efforts. Working with local governments, electric utilities, regulators and other players, GM is setting the stage with a holistic approach: finding ways to provide incentives to purchase the Volt, creating workplace charging infrastructure, HOV-lane access possibility, potentially changing building codes to allow vehicle charging stations to be built, and more.”
CNET adds, “Automakers are concerned that limited range and a lack of sufficient public charging infrastructure will frustrate early buyers,” leading the companies to work with municipalities to introduce the cars in particular areas first.
“Collaborating with communities such as San Francisco and metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C.–where there’s already an interest in plug-in vehicles–is another important step toward raising customer awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of vehicles such as the Volt,” GM North America Vice President Ed Peper told gathered reporters.
Ford is undertaking a similar effort. Speaking minutes after Peper, Ford VP Susan Chiske announced a plan to loan plug-in hybrid Escape SUVs to seven municipalities in order to support studies of how to prepare electric grids to support the cars. There is no announced timetable for sale of the plug-in Escape, but Peper claims the Volt is “on [its] way for delivery in late 2010.”
Research the best car deals with U.S. News’ car rankings and reviews.
Related with this news Japan Auto Store's other car news
