GM mounts hybrid offensive against Toyota's dominance

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) — General Motors Corp. mounted an offensive against rival Toyota Motors Co.'s hybrid dominance Monday with a plan to be the first automaker to deliver a plug-in hybrid to the general public as soon as 2010.

It was just one in a series of one-upmanships declared by the two rivals at the Detroit auto show.

GM's shot across the bow came a day after Toyota announced plans to deliver a small fleet of plug-in hybrids to commercial customers by 2010 but did not reveal when they would be available to the general public.

GM, which was late in introducing gas-electric hybrids, also plans to launch a car that can run exclusively on electric battery power, the Chevy Volt, by 2010.

It is also making a major incursion into flex-fuel...