Opel Ampera On Track For Production Release Next Year

2012 Opel Ampera

The Opel Ampera—the Chevy Volt’s European cousin--passed an important milestone on 23 April when the first pre-production Model Year 2012 Ampera rolled off the line at GM’s Pre-Production Operations assembly line in Warren, Michigan.

Assembly workers will build more pre-production Amperas in the coming months. These pre-production vehicles will be used instead for testing and validating the production intent design as well as developing the final vehicle software and controls.

Engineers in Europe and the United States also use them to tune the vehicle’s overall driving experience. Some of these Amperas will have very short lives as they will be used in safety and structural integrity testing.

We’re right on target for producing the Ampera for European markets later next year. There’s still work to be done, but being able to drive an Opel Ampera off our pre-production line is a great accomplishment for the teams here and in Europe.

—Andrew Farah, Vehicle Chief Engineer for the Ampera

The Opel Ampera extended-range electric vehicle delivers up to 60 kilometers 37 miles) of pure electric driving before an engine-generator kicks in to sustain the battery charge and seamlessly extend the range to more than 500 kilometers (311 miles). It is scheduled to go on sale end 2011.

Source: Green Car Congress