DETROIT (AP) — General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has agreed to testify before a U.S. House subcommittee about battery fires in Chevrolet Volt electric cars.
Company spokesman Greg Martin says Akerson will speak to a subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Jan. 25.
The committee is looking into why federal safety regulators waited five months before telling the public that a Volt battery caught fire three weeks after a government crash test. The fire happened in June but was not made public until November. Subsequent tests caused two more fires.
GM says no real-world fires have occurred. Coolant leaked from the batteries and caused a short circuit, sparking the fires. GM is advising Volt owners to take the cars to dealers for repairs that will better protect the batteries.