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Mary Barra reportedly confirms GM's electric pickup truck plans

According to Motor Authority, CEO Mary Barra confirmed General Motors' intentions to build an electric pickup truck this week. Whether or not it would be an all-new vehicle is unknown. The news comes not even a week after Ford announced a $500 million investment in electric-vehicle startup Rivian. First, electric powertrains were integrated into cars. Then came the crossovers and the SUVs. Naturally, then, the next wave will be pickup trucks. Ford is set to produce an electric F-150, Rivian has the R1T, and now General Motors has reportedly confirmed its plans to introduce a competitor into the field. The article says the topic was brought up in a recent investor call as part of a brief overview of the automaker's electrification strategy. That's where the details end, however, as there is no indication of a timeline, what GM brand would carry the truck, or whether it would be an entirely new product or an adaptation of a current model. The latter seems most likely, which points to the Chevrolet Silverado or the GMC Sierra as possibilities. Chevrolet has been GM's electrification leader this decade with the Bolt and Volt, so an electric Silverado would align well with that messaging and branding. However, an electric pickup would likely be a pricier premium product, which could align it better with GMC. Autoblog has reached out to GM for comment and will update this space when we get a response. Green Rumormill Chevrolet GMC Truck Electric Future Vehicles Mary Barra electric truck chevrolet silverado

Opel CEO talks new EV, will likely be fresh face for Chevy, too

The rumored demise of the Opel Ampera has been confirmed, but there's good news, too. Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann has been busy Tweeting information about the brand's next plug-in vehicle, admitting that the Ampera is on the way out but that plug-in vehicles are here to stay. His Tweets, in full, read: After the eventual run-out of the current generation Ampera, we'll introduce a successor product in the electric vehicle segment. Our next electric vehicle will be part of our massive product offensive – with 27 new vehicles in the 2014-2018 time frame. We see eMobility as important part of the mobility of tomorrow and we will continue to drive down costs & deliver affordability. As we learned earlier this week, the Ampera will not be refreshed when the current Chevy Volt is updated, most likely because of slow sales. Opel sold just 332 Amperas in the first five months of 2014. For now, General Motors is still building Amperas in Michigan for export to Europe. So, what might this new EV mean for the General Motors plug-in fleet? Official spokespeople are being quiet, but we think it's safe to say the new EV Neumann is talking about is not simply a rebadged Chevy Spark EV. This is the first official word about an entirely new EV, and we expect it will come to both the Chevrolet and Opel brands.

2016 Chevy Volt powertrain video teasers

If there's one thing we've learned about plug-in vehicle fans, you have a thing for seeing your cars get made. The series of videos showing BMW i3 production was strangely popular, as were the shots from inside the VW e-Golf plant. Well, with General Motors pulling the veil off of the 2016 Chevy Volt this week, it's time to take a peek at the production process for that vehicle as well. You're welcome. Up first we've got a clip from CNN Money showing a little bit about how the new Volt's new battery pack and other powertrain components are made. Those of you who are trying to read the lithium tea leaves and see if the new shape reveals that the 2016 Volt will have five seats might want to check it out. Then we've got two clips from GM itself, one showing an animation about the updated Voltec powertrain and another with some B Roll of the old Volt. Since GM doesn't want us to see the new car quite yet, we'll have to enjoy this for now. Watch below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.