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>> Tuesday, January 27, 2009
General Motors says its hybrids aren’t just for America when Opel, GM’s German subsidiary, debuts the Opel Ampera at the Geneva Auto Show.
The five-door, four-seat Ampera will use the same Voltec “extended range electric” technology that will power the Chevrolet Volt. For of no more than 60 km (36 miles, an approximation of the 40 miles pure electric mode of the Volt), the Ampera will run only on lithium-ion battery power charged via the European standard 230v outlet. A small on-board internal combustion engine runs a generator recharging the batteries while the Ampere continues to be powered by the electric motor.
“With the Ampera, Opel will be the first European automobile manufacturer to provide customers several hundred kilometers of non-stop electric driving,” said Alain Visser, GM Europe Chief Marketing Officer.
Eighty percent of Germans drive no more than 50 kilometers every day. The Opel Ampera would allow these drivers to operate in pure electric mode for virtually all their driving while delivering them from the dreaded range anxiety.
More information—as well as more than just a sneak-peek of the car’s exterior—will be available after the Opel Ampera’s introduction on March 3.
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