The Chevy Spark has officially been unveiled at the LA Auto Show. Looks good, and comes in at quite a competitive price — $25,000 after federal tax incentives (with the potential for additional state or local incentives in some places).
Here’s more on the Spark from the one & only (well, probably not only) Chris DeMorro: “just a few days away from the ‘official’ unveiling comes a few other key details that make the Spark EV seem like a serious contender. GM already let slip that the Chevy Spark EV will have pretty good acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in under 8 seconds thanks to an available 400 ft-lbs of torque and 130 horsepower. Yet the 20 kWh battery pack is still expected to deliver as much, if not more range than similar EVs on the market.”
Additionally, as noted in an email sent to me a few hours ago from Chevrolet representatives, “When it goes on sale next summer, the Spark EV is expected to have among the best EV battery range in its segment and be the first electric vehicle to offer SAE Combo DC Fast Charging capability, enabling the Spark EV to reach 80-percent battery charge in just 20 minutes.”
As Chris also duly notes, the before-incentives price of the Spark must be about $32,500, “cheaper than the Nissan Leaf, but more expensive than both the Mitsubishi i and Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, slated to be the cheapest EV on the market.”
Ah, and the often neglected factor of EVs’ great torque: “When you engineer a technology-filled, all-electric mini car that goes from zero-to-60 mph in less than eight seconds, customers won’t miss the gas,” said Mark Reuss, president, General Motors North America.
Now comes the bad news… the Spark won’t be available everywhere, or even close to everywhere. It will initially be available in California, Oregon, Canada, South Korea, and other global markets. Of course, this is the norm for commercially available EVs thus far.
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