Opel is considering taking on a partner to share hybrid development costs as the brand rolls out more petrol-electric cars.
“Hybrid technology is becoming increasingly more important. We are not holding any concrete talks but a cooperation would be certainly a good way to cut costs,” Opel chief Karl-Friedrich Stracke was quoted by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung‘s Wednesday edition as saying.
The driver is European legislation that mandates carmakers to sell on average vehicles that emit 95g of CO2 per km by 2020, Reuters reported, citing the paper.
“We need hybrid technology starting with compact cars and upwards,” Stracke said.
Opel is launching the extended range Ampera at the end of this year at EUR40,000 and has already received around 6,000 orders, the paper reported.
In 2012, Opel hopes to sell at least 10,000 Amperas across Europe.
“Maybe we even hit 12,000 or more,” Stracke reportedly said.
