Vauxhall’s long-awaited four-seater hatchback Ampera, which won the 2012 ‘Car of the Year’ award at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, will go on sale in the UK today.
The Ampera, which its makers say offers “all the benefits of electric driving, without any of the range anxiety”, is not a hybrid. The vehicle’s wheels are powered by electricity at all times by a 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack feeding an advanced 150PS electric drive unit.
But while the battery-powered electric drive delivers only 23-50 miles of range with zero emissions, what sets the Ampera apart, says Vauxhall, is the addition of a small 1.4-litre petrol-fuelled engine/generator.
It is this system – or ‘range extender’ as the automaker calls it – which generating enough electricity to power the electric motor and operates seamlessly as part of the powertrain.
The combination gives the Ampera a total driving range of up to 360 miles and, according to official European Test Cycle figures, 235 mpg with emissions of just 27 g CO2/km.
For UK drivers, the Ampera qualifies for the government’s Plug-In Car Grant, which takes the starting price to £29,995, zero road tax, zero Congestion Charge in London and a 50% reduction in company car tax. And according to Vauxhall, it costs just £1 to fully charge it, depending on the electricity tariff used.
The launch of the vehicle is hoped to boost the uptake of low-emission cars in the UK, which reached only just over 1000 last year.
All low- and zero-emission carmakers are predicting fast-growing sales this year as more vehicles launch and initial figures from Nissan show sales of over 1000 for its all-electric LEAF in Norway alone over the last six months.
For further information:
www.vauxhall.co.uk/ampera
Related stories:
Norway laps up 1000 Nissan LEAFs in six months (30-Apr)
British Gas and Vauxhall join forces to offer fast charging for Ampera (27-Mar)
Vauxhall Ampera and Chevrolet Volt win ‘Car of the Year’ (7-Mar)
UK take-up of electric cars reaches just over 1000 in 2011 (9-Jan)
Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5068/
