General Motors (GM) is redeploying staff within its company to step up progress in the manufacture of fuel cell cars in order to have its first hydrogen powered vehicle on the road by 2010, it has been reported.

The Detroit-based auto-manufacturer is to transfer 500 engineers from the fuel cell research division of the company to the company's core production engineering department, according to reports in local newspapers in the heartland of the US auto industry.

The move is significant since the latter division designs vehicles to be brought into production.

Larry Burn, GM's Vice President of Research, Development and Strategic Planning, told the Detroit Free Press: "We don't build cars in research labs. This is another important milestone as we move fuel cell vehicles closer to future production.

"This says, 'Not only have we done it in a lab, we're ready to do it for real,'" he told the Detroit News. "We have worked on this fuel-cell technology long enough and hard enough to be able to start to move this into production."

News of the company's intentions comes after Honda recently announced that it expects to be able to bring a limited number of fuel cell vehicles to market by 2008.

Sources:

GM Shares Up on Hydrogen Vehicle Outlook, 15/06/07
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/15/ap3825839.html

GM takes step toward fuel-cell car,15/06/07
http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/15/autos/gm_fuelcell/?postversion=2007061509


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