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WZZM 13 ONLINE
DETROIT, Mich. (WZZM) -- Incentives from the state helped bring jobs to West Michigan in the form of alternative energy, specifically lithium ion battery production in Holland.
Despite slow sales, hybrid vehicles are capturing attention at the North American Auto Show.
Its simple to charge but a complex process to make batteries in Holland.
"Every Volt we sell in the U.S. market has a battery and every battery will have an LG Chem, " says Chevy Volt spokesman Rob Peterson.
General Motors chose LG Chem to make the rechargeable lithium ion battery for the Volt in 2009. Because the Volt uses both gas and electric it needs to be a "do everything" kind of battery. While there's not perfect formula, experts say LG Chem does it as well as any company and on a larger scale.
Peterson compares the battery to an olympic athlete.
"A marathon runner needs to go long distances, a sprinter needs to have power immediately, and this battery needs to be both, " says Peterson.
But right now, electric-powered automobiles are limited. They have to be powered for 8 to 10 hours and last for about 40 miles.
"Most people would obviously like it if it could go 100 or 200 miles in a charge, " says Rob Huizenga, sales consultant at DeNooyer Chevrolet.
In 2011, sales were disappointing. GM hoped to sell 10,000 Volts but ended up selling 7,500.
"Electric vehicles are a niche at this point in time, but we expect soon they will begin to grow, " says Peterson.
Recently, attention has been focused on a series of car fires during crash tests - caused by a coolant near the battery.
"They suffered quite a bit with safety issues and I wanted to know how its doing in the market, " say Philippe Jacque, french newspaper journalist.
GM now says it has a fix for the problem - and that the Volt's best days are ahead.
By Alex Shabad