GM to offer multiple hybrid offerings from 2004

General Motors has announced a major plan to accelerate the introduction of hybrid gas/electric vehicles, from trucks and city buses to cars, beginning with a new SUV in 2004.

GM’s ParadiGM system will team a four-cylinder or V-6 engine with a pair of electric motors and a small battery pack.

“The power of this is (that) we’re sweeping across all vehicles from small cars to 60-foot articulated buses”, quoted GM vice chairman Harry Pearce according to the Reuters news agency at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The ParadiGM system uses the electric motors to power the rear wheels, while the internal combustion engine drives the front wheels.

Regenerative braking partially charges the batteries during decelleration, and the gasoline engine is shut down when the vehicle is stopped. GM predicts sales of at least 7000 units in 2004.