GM board approves plug-in Cadillac hybrid -sources

* GM board approves plan for Cadillac plug-in - sources

* New vehicle key to GM effort to recoup Volt investment

* Cadillac Converj spinoff not likely before 2013 model yr

By Bernie Woodall

DETROIT, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The board of General Motors Co
[GM.UL] has approved a plan to produce a plug-in hybrid for the
luxury Cadillac brand that will adapt technology developed for
the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, according to people briefed on the
decision.

The battery-powered Cadillac will be based on the Converj
concept GM showed off in January and would become the second
extended-range plug-in vehicle in GM's line-up after the Volt,
which is set to launch at the end of 2010.

GM's 13-member board approved production of the new
Cadillac at a regular meeting last week in Detroit, according
to the sources briefed on the action. They asked not to be
named since the decision has not been announced.

Production of the Cadillac is not expected before the 2013
model year, two years after the Volt's launch.

The Volt has attracted intense interest as one of the first
rechargeable, battery-powered vehicles set to launch in the
United States.

But GM officials have also downplayed expectations for the
Volt's commercial success because of the vehicle's high
development costs, high sticker price and limited production.

From the start, executives involved in the Volt development
effort have said GM's goal would be to find ways to create
spinoffs that would help the automaker recoup its investment.

The Volt is set to go on sale in late 2010 in the United
States and later in Europe. GM hopes to sell 10,000 Volts the
first year and 60,000 in the second year.

The Volt is expected to cost about $40,000 before a
consumer tax rebate of $7,500 in the United States. Even after
the rebate, the Volt would be about $10,000 more expensive than
the market-leading Toyota Prius hybrid.

GM wanted to show that the electric car technology behind
the Volt was ready for the mainstream when it chose Chevrolet
as the brand for the vehicle's launch.

Some analysts, however, have said the luxury Cadillac brand
would have been a better fit for the Volt because premium car
buyers could prove more willing to pay the higher prices the
new technology will require.

"In many ways it makes more sense for Cadillac rather than
Chevrolet," said Erich Merkle, auto industry analyst and
founder of Autoconomy.com.

The Volt is being designed to be able to charge at a
conventional household outlet and travel up to 40 miles (64 km)
on battery power. When its lithium-ion battery is run down, a
small gas-powered engine will start to recharge the battery.

GM's extended-range electric vehicle technology will face
competition from both pure electric cars and traditional
hybrids led by the Prius.

Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) will introduce the Leaf sedan in
late 2010, an all-electric car with a range of about 100 miles
(160 kilometers).

In a departure from past practices, GM's new board is being
briefed on product development plans earlier in the cycle and
has become far more active in vetting that investment, the
sources briefed on the board decision said.

Led by Chairman Ed Whitacre, the new GM board was reviewed
by the U.S. Treasury after being restructured in bankruptcy
with $50 billion in U.S. taxpayer funding.
(Reporting by Bernie Woodall, editing by Matthew Lewis)