GM to sell a gas-electric hybrid Corvette starting next year

General Motors is almost ready to roll out a new Chevrolet Corvette that's partially gas-powered and partially electric, a top company official said Monday. 

President Mark Reuss said in a statement on LinkedIn that the automaker will start selling the hybrid style Corvette "as early as next year." He also said GM plans to sell a fully electric Corvette sometime in the future. 

An electrified vehicle generally means a gas-electric hybrid or a plug-in rechargeable hybrid, but more details on the vehicles are expected at a later date. Interest in electric vehicles is increasing among consumers as gas prices have soared to more than $4 a gallon across the U.S. Separately, the demand for an electric Corvette has been building among the sports car's fan base.

GM has produced gas-guzzling cars and trucks for most of its existence. Now the company aims to roll out more than 30 electric vehicle models in the next three years and wants to become a carbon-neutral company by 2040.

The Corvette is one of many electric vehicles GM is counting on to drive sales. GM already offers the electric powered Bolt, a subcompact hatchback that's manufactured in Michigan. The company announced in January that it will sell an electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.

The new pickup, set for a fall 2023 release with a starting price of about $40,000, will be able to travel 400 miles on a full charge and can be customized to include power outlets capable of charging a second electric vehicle. The fully electric truck is part of GM's plans to spend $35 billion on electric and autonomous vehicles over the next three years.

The Corvette is one of GM's best-know vehicles, for decades attracting the love of gearheads. President Biden discussed last August how he'd had a conversation with General Motors CEO Mary Barra about wanting to test drive an electric Corvette once it is built.

GM is counting on the new Corvette, and the company's overall push into the electric vehicle market, to help turbocharge lagging sales. For nearly a century, GM sold more cars to U.S consumers than any other automaker, but last year Toyota sold 114,000 more cars than its rival. 

Earlier this month, GM and Honda announced that they're planning to co-develop some affordable electric vehicles that will use GM's next-generation Ultium battery technology. The vehicles include a compact Chevrolet Equinox SUV, which will sell for around $30,000. It's expected to go on sale in North America next year.

In January GM said that it plans to spend nearly $7 billion to convert a factory to make electric pickup trucks and to build a new battery cell plant. The company is building two battery plants in Ohio and Tennessee and plans to create two more in the U.S to meet what's expected to be growing demand for electric vehicle batteries in the years to come.