General Motors began production of the first hybrid transmission designed and built in the United States at its Baltimore Transmission Plant in White Marsh Monday, as company and government officials said the system would create and protect jobs at the Baltimore County facility and reduce gasoline consumption and emissions.
Production of GM?s 2-Mode Hybrid gas-electric transmission presents the automaker “a chance to reinvent the auto industry,” said John Buttermore, GM Powertrain?s vice president of global manufacturing.
The hybrid transmission will debut in the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon hybrid sport-utility vehicles and provide a 30 percent fuel economy compared with similar non-hybrid versions, Buttermore said.
The transmission reduces fuel consumption by providing electric-only launch and drive capability, engine-off while idle and during deceleration, an electric boost to assist the gas engine and the capture of electric energy during deceleration.
“This helps Maryland lead the way to a more sustainable future,” Gov. Martin O?Malley said. “We?re ushering in a whole new era of American technology.”
GM?s Baltimore Transmission Plant opened in 2000 and has celebrated “success after success” since then, said Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith. The plant was recently certified landfill-free.
“This is the kind of high-technology manufacturing that will change our economy in the future,” he said.
The vehicles are expected to have an overall fuel economy of about 21 miles per gallon in the city, a 50-percent improvement over non-hybrid models. Prices for the new hybrids ? which are expected to arrive at dealerships in December ? have not been announced, but GM expects the vehicle cost to be between $40,000 and $45,000.
Production of the new hybrid transmission should create new jobs at the White Marsh plant, depending on market demand.
GM invested $118 million last year to prepare the Baltimore Transmission Plant for production of the transmission.
Next year, the plant will begin building the hybrid transmissions for five other hybrid vehicles, including the Cadillac Escalade, the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra Crew Cab.
