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In mid-2006, General Motors released their first mainstream hybrid vehicle with first Saturn Vue Green Line. Prior to that the company had offered a mild hybrid system in the Silverado pickup but since that was really only offered in limited volumes to fleet and commercial buyers, we'll skip that one. The system in the Vue was dubbed the GM Hybrid system but it's more commonly called the belted-alternator-starter (BAS) system. Since the first Vue, the BAS system has been added to the Saturn Aura and Chevy Malibu as well as the redesigned 2008 Vue.

Last fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show GM showed a concept Opel Corsa with an updated version of the BAS system. At the time GM declined to give any details of the system other than the fact it had a lithium ion battery. At the Geneva Motor Show today, GM Chairman Rick Wagoner is announcing that the next-generation GM Hybrid system will go into production in 2010. More importantly, the upgrades to the system will make it more suitable for a much larger range of applications and production of the system will be increased dramatically. Learn more about the second generation of GM's mild hybrid system after the jump.


[Source: General Motors]