Volt Behind in Battery Testing

The latest Reuters interview with Lutz, Chief Executive at GM, has Lutz pushing the timeline backwards on some very important tests. The road test of the lithium-ion battery pack won't being until July and the battery supplier won't be named until the second half of the year. And this is just a day after Burns, GM President R&D and Planning, was quoted as saying the 2010 deadline was 'challenging.'

The move to lithium-ion battery packs is always quoted as the biggest concern for automakers as they start making plug-in vehicles, so it's not surprising to see the dates being pushed back even under all the pressure GM is putting on itself to get the Volt out in 2010. Still, I'm left wondering how this will affect the overall timeline.

Will we still see the Volt in 2010? Will GM be able to stand toe-to-toe when Toyota produces the plug-in Prius?

Source: GM to road test Volt battery packs in July | Industries | Consumer Goods & Retail | Reuters

"We were hoping to do that in the first half," he said when asked when GM would name a battery supplier. "That may also be a little bit longer now, as we need a better handle on who has the technological capability we need and who is going to have the production capability."