General Motors hopes its Chevy Volt will introduce electric cars to the masses. But Daimler’s electric smart may be the first real plug-in People’s Car.

Like many of General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz earlier projects, the upcoming Chevy Volt electric roadster is a brash, high-concept gamble designed to say as much about the company which produces it as advance the automotive art.

There’s no doubt the Volt represents a significant investment for GM, or that Lutz is anything less than dead serious about bringing it to market. General Motors has invested several years and untold treasure laying out the technology for an all-electric hybrid which should be as durable as it is drivable, and this is no small feat.

New batteries for a new kind of car

While gasoline-electric hybrids, such as Toyota’s wildly successful Prius, rely on battery packs to boost the range of its otherwise conventional drive train, the Volt will require a far more robust lithium ion system and all its associated trappings. Prior to the Volt project, this sort of constant duty, automotive-grade power storage simply didn’t exist. It’s not unreasonable to expect the system’s rapid propagation to less expensive family sedans.

But the Chevy Volt itself is destined to be something of a retail show car: a limited production vehicle driven by celebrities, journalists, and a few well-heeled early adopters. GM says prototype testing has made steady progress, and the Volt should be heading to showroom floors sometime in 2010.

Just last week, Lutz was telling reporters that while GM would prefer to enjoy an 18 month head start in EV battery technology, it welcomes the rush of other companies into the market. Now European car giant Daimler is about to put Lutz’ fraternal big-heartedness to the test.

Achtung, Detroit!

On Saturday, Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche confirmed rumors first posted by BenzInsider that not only will its Mercedes match GM by fielding an electric Mercedes in 2010, it will also begin selling a plug-in version of the popular urban smart. And that may be the Volt-trumping automotive headline of the decade: the first affordable, all-electric passenger vehicle from a major manufacturer.

It’s unwelcome news for GM. Not only will an electric Mercedes likely compete head-to-head with the Volt’s affluent target audience — an electric smart leapfrogs Detroit by going directly for the commuter and grocery-getter. Move over, Chevy Electro-Malibu.

Electric cars for everyone

Of course, all this is moot if Daimler fails to meet its rather brash two-year production deadline. It’s also possible that the first electric models will be Europe-only, buying GM a little time. Zetsche wasn’t specific about the price or feature set of either plug-in. But he told the German-language Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he had not yet decided whether the smart’s battery pack would be part of the car or separately leased, underlining Daimler’s continuing attention to the affordability of the smart brand. Zetsche clearly intends to bring plug-ins to the mass market.

Which is good news for consumers, the environment, and — ultimately — energy prices. If GM and Daimler keep their electric promises, both companies will earn cameos when some future documentarian films Who Killed the Gasoline Car?

More Reading:

Daimler Plans Electric Smart Car for 2010 (SustainableBusiness.com)
Mercedes-Benz developing 100% electric car (BenzInsider)
Wir planen für 2010 einen Elektro-Mercedes (FAZ.net — German language)