What's the news?
Opel says that it wants to 'break down barriers to electric mobility' and will start doing so next year with a new Ampera-e, a small electric car based on the US-market Chevrolet Bolt. The Bolt has been launched to much hoopla, with a 320km one-charge range and a fast-charging facility that claims to add 40km of range for every hour spent on a conventional charger. It's also an affordable car, clocking in at $38,000 before incentives and tax breaks. That would suggest an on-sale Irish price of around €25,000 once rebates and SEAI grants are taken into account.
Announcing the Ampera-e at the CAR Symposium in Bochum, Germany, GM Chairman & CEO Mary Barra said: "GM and Opel have always been convinced that electric cars will play a defining role in future mobility. The game-changing technology of the Ampera-e is a significant step toward realizing that vision. Our new battery electric car is also another boost for Opel's reputation for making innovative engineering widely accessible."
"Electric vehicles have the potential to make a significant contribution to climate protection and emissions reduction", says Opel group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann. "The new Opel Ampera-e will open the road to electric mobility by breaking down the barriers of high price and short driving range."
Anything else?
While the Ampera-e is quite close in size to an Opel Corsa, Opel claims that the inherently efficient packaging of its batteries and electric motor mean that it can offer interior and boot space similar to that of an Astra.