Delay Electric Auto Mandate, GM Chief Says

CHICAGO —  California should delay its electric-vehicle mandate from 1998 until the year 2000, when new batteries to lower the cost and extend the range of zero-emission cars may be available, the chief executive of General Motors Corp. said Friday.

The comments from John F. Smith mark the first time since the industry began seeking a rollback of California’s rule last year that a Big Three executive has estimated the time it would take to deliver attractive, affordable electric vehicles.

“Maybe there is some way to tie the development (of electric vehicles) to the timing of a second generation of batteries being ready,” Smith said after giving a speech at the Chicago Auto Show.

The state Air Resources Board has mandated that by 1998, 2% of vehicles sold in California be zero-emission models. The mandate increases to 5% in 2001 and 10% by 2003. Only electric vehicles now qualify as emission-free.

Board spokesman Jerry Martin said the agency sees no reason to back away from the 1998 deadline. “We intend to stay the course,” he said.

In his speech, Smith reiterated the auto industry’s belief that practical electric vehicles cannot be produced by 1998. The main problem is that today’s batteries hold only a fraction of the energy contained in a tank of gas.

The Big Three, the federal government and the electric utility industry are jointly working on a $260-million program to develop advanced batteries. The hope is that improved batteries--those that are cheaper, last longer and can greatly extend range--can be ready by the turn of the century.

“Several years of focused development will be required for mid-term batteries to be commercially viable,” Smith said.

But there are no guarantees that the technology will be available even by 2000. And there is a credibility gap between the industry and regulators and the public.

“Credibility is a problem,” acknowledged Smith. “Some of it we deserve.” The industry has opposed emissions and safety advances on technological grounds in the past, only to be proven wrong.