Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The chairman and CEO of General Motors is defending the company over battery fires in Chevrolet Volt electric cars last year.

Daniel F. Akerson says in written testimony for a congressional hearing Wednesday that testing which resulted in fires put the battery through conditions no driver would experience in the "real world." The Associated Press obtained a copy of the testimony Tuesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began studying the Volt last June after a fire broke out in one of the cars three weeks after it was crashed as part of safety testing. Two other fires occurred later related to separate safety tests, and NHTSA opened an official investigation into the vehicle on Nov. 25. The government ended its investigation last week.