Opel Ampera-e (Chevy Bolt) Making World Premiere At Mondial de l’Automobile In Paris
The Opel Ampera-e, a rebranding of the soon-to-be-released Chevy Bolt, will be making its European debut in October at the “Mondial de l’Automobile” in Paris, according to a new press release.
It’s not completely clear yet how seriously the Opel Ampera-e will be marketed and in what volume GM is prepared to produce it, but the unveiling will give us some insight into the changes being made to the Chevy Bolt for the international markets.
“The Opel Ampera-e makes electromobility fully feasible for everyday use and ready for the future” commented Opel CEO, Dr Karl-Thomas Neumann. “The Ampera-e demonstrates impressively how well sustainability and driving pleasure can form a unity. And with its strong-as-an-ox electric motor, it delivers pure fun-to-drive.”
It is good to see GM highlighting the “fun to drive” benefit of electric cars — certainly a step forward in marketing. Here’s another great example of that:
While we have long argued that even EVs with half the electric range of the Bolt/Ampera-E are great options for millions of households, the fact that British people drive approximately half as much as Americans on average, and other Europeans are presumably in a similar boat, makes the car even that much more useful for Europeans.
The GM press release provides some basic background information on the model: “The maximum torque of 360 Nm is responsible for the electrifying temperament of the new Opel. The power output of the electric motor is 150 kW/204 hp (PS). Standing starts at traffic lights and entering the motorway belong to the Opel Ampera-e’s favorite disciplines. The compact car sprints to 50 km/h in only 3.2 seconds, acceleration from 80 to 120 km/h for overtaking is accomplished in just 4.5 seconds (provisional figures). The Ampera-e thus performs at the same level as OPC models, the sporty spearheads of Opel.”
Continuing: “Fun-to-drive with the Opel Ampera-e also means swift cruising at up to 150 km/h. At the same time, the Ampera-e also offers a significantly longer range than most other electric cars. The unique, compact proportions of the Ampera-e are driven by the battery pack being mounted flat, under the vehicle floor. The efficient packaging of the battery also enables a roomy interior providing comfortable seating for five passengers and trunk space comparable with that of a car in the compact class.”
By the time of the European Opel Ampera-e unveiling in October, we’re likely to already have a pretty good understanding of what to expect, as the Chevy Bolt will be more of a known quantity by that point.
The exact location of the unveiling is planned for hall 5-2, booth 501, at the event.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
