Ampera-e battery car ‘game changer’ in electric mobility

• New battery car’ will break down barriers to electric mobility
• Five-door, five-seats, longer range than most electric cars
• Fun to drive, outstanding connectivity, affordable

RüSSELSHEIM, Germany – The Opel Group will launch what it describes as ” a revolutionary battery car” in 2017 as the automaker continues the biggest, most far-reaching, model offensive in its history.

That, it says, means 29 new models by 2020.

Meanwhile, the four-door, five seat, Ampera-e hatchback will, Opel claims, have more range on a full charge than most electric cars and ” will be affordable”. Time will tell on that – affordable covers a lot of sins…

Whatever, the Ampera-e will, Opel says, build on the battery-power exsperience etablished with through the original 2011 Ampera which some regard as a benchmark for modern electric cars. The Ampera-e is described as combining “innovative electric-mobility with state-of-the-art connectivity and exciting driving dynamics”.

General Motors’ chairman and chief executive officer Mary Barra told The Corner in a media release from Bochum, Germany: “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.”

BATTERY PACK BENEATH THE FLOOR

Opel group CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann added: “Electric vehicles have the potential to make a significant contribution to climate protection and exhause emissions reduction. The Ampera-e will open the road to electric mobility by breaking down the barriers of price and short range.”

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The car’s battery pack is wide and flat and lives beneath the cabin floor, releasing space not only to seat five adults but also to create boot space “comparable to that of a car in the compact class”.

The car will also have OnStar connectivity and infotainment technology for smartphones and other electronic devices.