General Motors Co. is developing ways to discharge the battery in Chevrolet Volts after accidents to prevent fires like the one that followed a government crash-test of the plug-in hybrid car in May.
GM is working on safety practices with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and will make them public when completed, Rob Peterson, a GM spokesman, said yesterday. The Detroit-based automaker has taken longer to develop a plan than Nissan Motor Co. did for its Leaf electric car. Both the Volt and Leaf went on sale in December 2010.
