DETROIT — Saturn on Monday joined a growing list of global automakers contending that they will be first to market with a commercially viable plug-in hybrid. The GM brand announced at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show that production "may begin as soon as 2010 on a plug-in hybrid electric version of the Saturn Vue Green Line."
It's a horse race that seems completely up in the air right now. Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe grabbed national headlines on Monday — including the front page of the New York Times business section — with the proclamation that Toyota will launch its first plug-in hybrid by 2010, with a lithium-ion battery pack replacing today's nickel metal hydride batteries.
China's BYD Auto is displaying a plug-in hybrid in Detroit and says it begins to sell a version in China in late 2008.
"We announced late in 2006 that a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle was a top priority, and the fact that we're now announcing production timing to bring the industry's first plug-in to market, while tackling many technology hurdles along the way, demonstrates our commitment to diversifying from petroleum and reducing emissions," Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak said in a statement.
What this means to you: Time to get that plug-in hybrid pool going in your office. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
It's a horse race that seems completely up in the air right now. Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe grabbed national headlines on Monday — including the front page of the New York Times business section — with the proclamation that Toyota will launch its first plug-in hybrid by 2010, with a lithium-ion battery pack replacing today's nickel metal hydride batteries.
China's BYD Auto is displaying a plug-in hybrid in Detroit and says it begins to sell a version in China in late 2008.
"We announced late in 2006 that a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle was a top priority, and the fact that we're now announcing production timing to bring the industry's first plug-in to market, while tackling many technology hurdles along the way, demonstrates our commitment to diversifying from petroleum and reducing emissions," Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak said in a statement.
What this means to you: Time to get that plug-in hybrid pool going in your office. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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