G.M. to Begin Production Of a Battery-Powered Car

By Doron P. Levin
The New York Times

April 19, 1990

Responding to concerns about poor air quality, the General Motors Corporation announced today that it would proceed with commercial production of a battery-powered electric car for personal use.

Despite the announcement, the project seemed to remain somewhat speculative. G.M. acknowledged that a number of technical, regulatory and market uncertainties had not been cleared up. Indeed, G.M. cited competitive reasons for declining to answer the most critical questions about when or where it would begin production of the car and what technology would be used.

G.M. had displayed a battery-powered car called the Impact in January and said it would decide on the commercial feasibility of the vehicle within a few months. The Impact would be the basis for the car that G.M. said it would produce.

Timely Announcement

The announcement that the company planned to begin production was made by Roger B. Smith, the chairman of G.M., at the National Press Club in Washington. The announcement came less than a week before Earth Day and at a time when Congress is considering broad clean-air legislation that could force auto makers to put new pollution controls on their vehicles.

A spokesman said later that the company had not established a definite date and place for the start of production.

Mr. Smith said G.M.'s goal was to be ''the first automobile company since the early days of the auto industry to mass-produce an electric car'' that is safe, performs well and that consumers find appealing.

''What that means is that the Impact is suitable for most urban drivers' daily activities,'' he added.

G.M. has said the car will accelerate from standstill to 60 miles an hour in eight seconds and run for 125 miles before its battery needs recharging. The Big Three and some foreign auto makers have also been testing battery-powered vans.

Support for Zero Emissions

Mr. Smith said that public and governmental reaction to the Impact has been positive since G.M. began displaying a prototype at auto shows in Los Angeles, Chicago and Geneva. ''People are concerned about the range of the car, but they're also very much impressed by the fact that Impact produces zero emissions,'' he said.

In the late 1970's, at the height of the energy crisis, G.M. said it would be building 100,000 battery-powered cars a year by 1984, a plan that was abandoned for lack of interest by the public, a company spokesman said.

Mr. Smith said the technology had improved, ''so it's possible to do this with a fresh design.''

G.M. is seeking changes in Federal regulations to make production of the car more feasible, Mr. Smith said. Although he was not specific, he said that current safety standards were meant for the size and weight of internal combustion cars.

G.M. will also lobby the Government for electric cars to be counted in the calculation of corporate average fuel economy, he said.

The Battery Problem

But the biggest question is about the vehicle's power source, its battery. Scientists who worked on the Impact prototype noted that it used conventional lead-acid batteries, which emit relatively little power and must be replaced each year at considerable expense.

Noting that the battery ''is such an essential piece of the final picture,'' Mr. Smith said developing one for commercial production might require ''a broad-based development effort, one that involves not only the entire domestic auto industry and the Government, but the electric utility industry as well.''