GE Not Quite Ready to Build an Electric Car

In December, Andy Grove wrote in Portfolio about big companies acting as disruptors -- and he encouraged General Electric to build an electric car.

So this week I got an e-mail from Todd Alhart, who does PR for GE Research, and he wondered if I'd caught the announcement (I hadn't) about GE investing in electric car maker Think and battery development company A123 Systems. Todd noted that "with the increasing electrification of transportation...GE has a lot of technology expertise to help accelerate advancements in this space."

Well, well. I e-mailed Todd back and asked if GE was in fact lining up to make electric cars. But, apparently not. He wrote back:

GE is not an auto manufacturer, nor do we plan to be. But we have a long history in hybrid and electric technologies. Our interest in these technologies is in other industries, such as the rail, marine, mining and energy industries where we already have a significant business presence. In addition, GE has long been a supplier to the automobile industry, namely through our lighting, materials and electronics offerings. A lot of the technology and expertise we have developed though could help accelerate advancements in the plug-in, hybrid space.

Hey, but the Think car is kind of cute.

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