GM implements smart charging feature in Volt, keeps release promise by 2010

The smart charging technology or OnStar in-car communication system will be used by GM, the company said in a teleconference.

OnStar will allow the Volt's batteries to be charged at different times -- for instance off-peak times in the middle of the night -- and will control how fast the car's battery is charged.

In a future reality when millions of electric cars are on the road, the Smart charging technology is needed to avoid an overload of electricity use (which may happen if too many cars are plugged in at the same time), to smooth out demand of electricity and prevent blackouts.

The Volt will be released in showrooms in November 2010, GM confirmed on Thursday despite the current troubled financial times for the company.

The company has allocated about $1 billion to develop the electric sedan which will hit the market as a top competitor to Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid, which is the top seller of its kind, Bloomberg reported.