FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - General Motors Corp. aims to start selling electric cars for less than $30,000 each by 2010, earlier than planned, chief executive Rick Wagoner told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview.

The company previously said it plans to start serial production of an electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, by the end of 2010.

"Our two challenges are lowering the cost of batteries and convincing consumers of the advantages of the Volt," Wagoner told the newspaper in an excerpt of an interview to be published on Friday.

General Motors presented a prototype of the Volt in January last year.

Commenting on the North American market for automobiles, Wagoner said 2008 will be a "pretty tough year" in the region due to soaring oil prices, higher raw material costs and strikes at key suppliers. maria.sheahan@thomsonreuters.com dpa/mas/ms1

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