Finance and Insurance in USA

GM CEO Dan Akerson wants the automaker better prepared with more fuel-efficient models such as the Volt in the event gasoline prices remain elevated.

Obama has said he wants Americans to be driving 1 million EVs by 2016.

"I think we'll miss it by maybe a year or two," Britta Gross, GM's director of global energy systems, said at an Edison Foundation conference here. "We have to watch demand."

Gross said manufacturers such as GM, which makes the Chevrolet Volt, are prepared to meet Obama's goal. It's not yet clear, however, whether consumer tastes will respond that quickly, she added.

GM is striving to boost Volt output and plans to apply the car's technology to other models down the road. GM CEO Dan Akerson wants the automaker better prepared with more fuel-efficient models in the event gasoline prices remain elevated.

Some industry analysts, such as HIS Global Insight's Rebecca Lindland, have expressed skepticism that Obama will come close to meeting his target date.

They have cited the cost of EVs, questions about whether there will be enough charging stations, and "range anxiety" among EV drivers.