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The focus of this paper is the design, implementation, and initial testing of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle drivetrain in a 2009 GM compact SUV base vehicle by the University of Victoria's EcoCAR Team. The Team is using a condensed three-year vehicle development process modeled after those used by Tier 1 automotive manufactures, and mandated by the competition rules of EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. During the first year of the competition, intensive research was performed to identify a powertrain architecture that would give the best overall performance based on greenhouse gas emissions, criteria air contaminant emissions, fuel economy, petroleum use, and vehicle performance according to the weighting formulas of the competition. As a result, an extended range electric vehicle utilizing GM's Two-Mode transmission, a large lithium-ion battery pack, and a rear traction motor was selected; these components were integrated into the vehicle in the second year of the competition.