Opel Ampera-e can drive 400 kilometers on one charge – update
The Opel Ampera-e can drive more than 400 kilometers on a single battery charge. With this, Opel trumps Tesla in the US with its relatively cheap electric car that can drive more than 320 kilometers on a single charge. The range would also be greater than that of the BMW i3 and the Nissan Leaf.
The message from Opel states that the Ampera-e will be available in 2017. Opel will announce prices later. The car will go on sale in the US as the Chevrolet Bolt this year and will cost $37,500 there, or more than 33,000 euros, although the official sale price has not yet been determined. Together with certain tax benefits for electric cars that can amount to about $ 7,500 in the United States, this amounts to around $30,000.
The car was shown at the beginning of this year at the CES in Las Vegas and falls under the compact electric cars and is 4.17 meters long. The supplied battery pack was developed in collaboration with LG Chem and consists of 228 lithium-ion cells with a capacity of 60 kWh. In total, the car has a power of 150 kW or 204 hp with a maximum torque of 360 Nm. This allows the car to accelerate from 0 to 50 km/h in 3.2 seconds and from 80 to 120 km/h in 4.5 seconds. The maximum speed is limited to 150 km/h, which according to Opel has to do with the maximum range.
The car itself is equipped with IntelliLink and Opel OnStar. IntelliLink features Apple CarPlay. In addition, the ‘online service assistant’ OnStar can act as a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to seven devices.
In Europe, the BMW i3 can be ordered for some time with a range of 300 kilometers, depending on the driving style and road type, as with all cars. The most expensive Nissan Leaf can drive about 250 kilometers on a single charge and is reportedly getting a version that lasts longer in 2017.
With the Tesla Model S, Tesla Motors had the first electric car for the consumer that could drive more than 200 miles on a single charge, but it is significantly more expensive. Tesla Model 3 should be the first affordable Tesla, but it won’t be on the market before the end of 2017.
Update 10.50: Added information as a result of the European press release and all distances are shown in nedc. According to the American EPA standard, the car has a range of 383 km, or 238 miles. The American version of the Ampera-e is called Chevrolet Bolt.