Opel will launch long-range, affordable electric car

BOCHUM (Reuters) -- General Motors CEO Mary Barra said the company's Opel/Vauxhall unit will launch a long-range, affordable five-seat electric car called the Ampera-e in 2017.

The car shares the same underpinnings as GM's other electric car, the Chevrolet Bolt.

"The Ampera-e promises to transform the electric vehicle market in Europe as the first EV that combines long range at an affordable price," Barra told the CAR Symposium industry conference here today.

Barra said the Ampera-e would offer a greater electric range than the vast majority of electric vehicles currently available in Europe, and offer room for five passengers and trunk space comparable to that of a compact car.

Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann said in a statement that the Ampera-e will open the road to electric mobility "by breaking down the barriers of high price and short driving range."

The Ampera-e has its battery pack mounted flat under the vehicle floor, resulting in a roomy interior, Opel said in the statement

GM said it would announce further details about the Ampera-e's range and price at a later date.

The Chevrolet Bolt has a range of more than 200 miles (320km) on a single charge. It will go into production at GM's plant in Orion near Detroit at the year-end and will cost less than $30,000 in the U.S. after federal tax credits. GM did not say whether the factory would also build the Ampera-e or whether the Opel car will be produced in Europe

The Ampera-e model will be more affordable than BMW's i3 electric car and will compete with Volkswagen's battery-powered e-Golf, which came out in 2014.

GM is investing more than 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in its European operations through the end of 2016 under an initiative that started three years ago in an effort to stem losses.

Opel and its UK sister brand, Vauxhall, are set to bring out 29 new or revamped vehicles by 2020, including a new midsize SUV as second flagship model alongside the Insignia.

Opel/Vauxhall is seeking 8 percent market share in Europe by 2022, compared with 5.8 percent last year, and targeting a 5 percent operating return on sales by then.

Automotive News Europe and Bloomberg contributed to this report

CORRECTION: This story has been updated with the location of U.S. production for the Chevrolet Bolt. An earlier version misstated the production plant.