General Motors Europe has named its version of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car the Opel Ampera and will reveal the five-door, four-seater at the Geneva show in March.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
A spokesman could not confirm the model would be sold here in the UK as a Vauxhall, as is the case with other Opel models. “For now it’s only an Opel,” he said, adding that, while the Ampera uses the Volt’s technology, it will look different to the US Volt.
“With the Ampera, Opel will be the first European automobile manufacturer to provide customers several hundred kilometres of non-stop electric driving,” said GME’s chief marketing officer Alain Visser said in a statement.
The car will use GM’s ‘Voltec’ propulsion system. For short trips up to 60km (about 35 miles), the Ampera will run only on lithium-ion battery power charged via a standard European 230 volt mains outlet. For longer distances, the car will continue to drive on electricity that is generated by a small internal combustion engine.
GME said the Ampera would be well-suited to the daily driving schedule of most European customers – for example, approximately 80% of German drivers travel less than 50 km (30 miles) daily.
