Big EV Deal For GM and GE

General Electric confirming today that it's going to purchase 25 thousand electric vehicles over the next five years, and nearly half of them will be from General Motors.

"It not only builds up volume for the manufacturers of these vehicles," says Michelle Krebs of Edmunds.com. "GE is the perfect candidate to do this because it's in the energy business."

General Electric builds charging stations for electric vehicles. As part of the deal, they will set up several EV learning centers, including one in Van Buren Township.

"We make technology that touches every point of the electric vehicle infrastructure and are leading the transformation to a smarter electrical grid," said GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, in a statement released by the company. "This transformation will be good for our businesses and for our shareowners. Wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles will also drive clean energy innovation, strengthen energy security and deliver economic value."

The Chevrolet Volt will begin production later this month, with the first vehicles delivered by the end of the year. There is no shortage of buyers, at this point, but a purchase like this could give General Motors some extra "green" credibility.
"It is also a vote of confidence in the Chevrolet Volt," said GM CEO Dan Akerson, in a published statement. "We are pleased that the Volt will play a major role in this program, which will spur innovation and benefit our companies, our customers, and society as a whole."

A number of auto companies are bringing electric vehicles to market. Nissan's all-electric Leaf will also come to market by the end of the year….and has already expressed interest in GE's big purchase of electric vehicles.

"The good thing about that announcement first is that it sets demand at a very ambitious level for one single company," Nissan Americas President Carlos Tavares said, speaking to the Automotive Press Association last week. "We are delighted."
GE's decision to purchase 12 thousand GM electric vehicles, means it's still deciding where it will go to purchase the remaining 12 thousand EV's.

"I certainly think the Nissan Leaf is a prime candidate," said Edmunds.com's Michelle Krebs. "We also will next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show see the Tesla-Toyota RAV 4 that's electric, and that's going to be coming out soon. Ford has some things up its sleeves as well."

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