Opel says Ampera-e's 249-mile range will 'democratize' EVs

FRANKFURT -- Opel said its Ampera-e battery powered car will eliminate range anxiety for customers because it can travel more than 400 km (249 miles) on a single charge.

"Opel is democratizing the electric car with the Ampera-e," the brand's CEO, Karl‑Thomas Neumann, said in a statement.

Under the New European Driving Cycle, the Ampera-e will clear the 400 km barrier without recharging "by a considerable margin," Opel said. By comparison, BMW's i3 has a 300 km range, the Nissan Leaf 250 km, the Renault Zoe 240 km and the VW e-Golf 190 km, it said.

The Ampera-e is a sister model to the Bolt from parent General Motors' Chevrolet brand. GM said on Monday that the range of the Bolt is 238 miles (383 km) as certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. GM will start production of the Bolt at its plant in Orion Township near Detroit at end of this year. The Ampera-e is likely to be built on the same production line, although GM has not confirmed this.

Paris debut

Opel will debut the Ampera-e at the Paris auto show on Sept. 29, ahead of its market launch in the spring. The brand is touting the car's roomy interior, which is helped by mounting its battery pack under the floor, where the 10 battery modules have been fitted into the contours of the vehicle. The Ampera-e has room for five occupants and its trunk volume of 13.5 cubic feet is above average for a vehicle of 13.6 feet in length, Opel said.

The car's electric drivetrain produces 204 hp and can accelerate the EV to 50 kph (31 mph) from 0 in 3.2 seconds and to 120 kph from 80 kph in 4.5 seconds when overtaking on the highway, Opel said. Its top speed is limited to 150 kph (93 mph).

Opel's sister brand, Vauxhall, said it will not sell the Ampera-e in the UK. Vauxhall will evaluate the possibility of right-hand-drive models being produced in a future, it said in a statement.