Chicago, Nov 15 (IANS): General Motors Co. plans to build 500,000 electric vehicles a year by 2017, a company official said.

GM plans to meet that goal through a variety of technology including plug-in electrics, pure electrics and hybrids that use the company's eAssist technology, said Mary Barra, GM's senior vice president of global product development, Wednesday.

She made the remarks via satellite feed from Detroit to media gathered at GM's Electrification Experience press event in Sausalito, California.

The company is on track to sell more than 50,000 vehicles equipped with its electrification technologies in the United States this year, Xinhua quoted Barra as saying.

GM is working on the next-generation propulsion technology that powers the Volt and will power the Cadillac ELR to improve the "system's value and efficiency in the not too distant future", Barra said.

"In fact, we're looking at new ways we can use EREV (extended-range electric vehicle) technologies to provide more innovative options to our customers," the Detroit News quoted Barra as saying.

GM launched the plug-in Chevrolet Volt in late 2010. Sales started off slow but this year have been gaining. The Volt set a record in October, selling nearly 3,000 units. For the year through October, GM has sold more than 19,000 Volts.

The company is also rolling out a new Chevy Spark Battery Electric Vehicle next year and has announced plans to build a new plug-in Cadillac ELR coupe with the same technology that powers the Volt.

GM said it sold more than 26,000 vehicles equipped with eAssist through October and the company plans for eAssist technology to be on "hundred of thousands" of vehicles annually by 2017, Barra said.