"Electric car is not dead," says GM's CEO

Joseph Szczesny, the Detroit Bureau - 19 days

Despite the slow start "is sales, the electric car isn't dead", emphasizes General Motors President Mark Reuss, adding that the manufacturer "not be happier" with its Chevrolet Volt despite the plug-in hybrid its sales target for the second year in a row missing.

During an appearance at the a Conference, which coincide with the North American International Auto Show insisted Reuss, that the manufacturer hopes the cost of next generation Volt to take "Thousands", from which, when it comes to the market. Main rival Nissan announced earlier this week, a new version of the base to introduce an own battery-electric vehicle leaf plant $6,000 and smaller than the original model costs.

"The electric car is not dead," announced Reuss, head of GM North American core operations during the Automotive News World Congress, "despite what you might hear, and despite what you about Americans not ready for it to be, or it is 'attacked' by the local governments pulling back incentives could read."

Battery car sales have clearly behind expectations, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn admitting, reporters at the Detroit Auto show was he 'disappointed' with demand for leaf battery-electric model of the manufacturer. Included with conventional hybrids, all battery-based vehicles were almost 3.5% of the US market last year.

However, Reuss insisted that the industry is in the middle of one "here and transformations take time. It takes a long time, an industry, to change habits and a way of living, to change to change", he said, adding that those who purchased a Chevy Volt indicating are that they satisfied as the owner of the high-performance Porsche 911 car.

However, he also explained the GM, Nissan and other automakers battery was well aware that the high price for the technology limited demand, has.

Reuss against other GM executives have promised that the prices with successive generations of the Volt will fall. Among other things the manufacturer is looking to the mass of underlying electric drive technology to decrease, he said, and "If you do that then you the battery pack can shrink," he said. It is also less expensive."

GM shows his commitment last week with the introduction of its latest plug-in, hybrid, Cadillac ELR to electric drive. Sharing the same underlying this drive system as the Chevy Volt, the new Cadillac model adds a number of luxury features. Prices will not be announced until later this year, but probably thousands of dollars higher than running for the Volt.

The GM President touched a wide variety of subjects during his speech, inter alia determination of General Motors plans to spend $1.5 billion for new machinery and equipment in the next 12 months.

The biggest challenge that General Motors faces will be next year always called all of its new products in life and started well. The Caddy ELR are come under the critical new offerings on the market, the redesigned Chevrolet Silverado Pickup and the seventh generation Chevy Corvette.

Chevy and Cadillac have all in all only 23 new items in the agenda. GM, which spends $8 billion a year for product development is expected to be about 70 percent who have replaced its lineup by the end of the year.

"We have to build all these new products," Reu? said, emphatically, "This is a very important year for us."

The $1.5 billion in new spending is next beyond spending on product development, also at a brisk clip, about $8 billion, in the next year.

Asked by reporters later what factories are affected, said Reuss: "The list of plants soon will we."

This is good news for those who hope to mention things in the American production, the Executive Branch, that turn around "on our part, GM has announced North American plant investments of more than 10.2 billion $ create since July 2009 or the preservation of more than 26,500 jobs."

GM officials have celebrated clearly a strong week, which began with the introduction of the new Corvette during an auto show preview last Sunday night and went the next day to see the introduction of the new Silverado and the announcement that the Cadillac ATS had won the coveted North American car of the year award.

The "C7" has Corvette "became the symbol of American engineering, styling and capability," boasted of the Executive Branch, and it model 450 HP and start from 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds, making the 2014 was clearly among the stars of the North American International Auto Show 2013, with its new LT1 V8 engine would the fastest and most powerful "base" Chevrolet Corvette of all time.

It is also lighter, more rigid built with cutting-edge carbon fiber, which masterfully blended with high-strength steel for all models and a perfect 50/50 weight distribution and a beautiful new interior with excellent processing and attention to detail, he added.

Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.

Copyright 2013 the Detroit Bureau