Ampera Scoops Prestigious Technology Award

LUTON, UNITED KINGDOM – June 10, 2009: The revolutionary Vauxhall/Opel Ampera Extended Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV) has been crowned the inaugural winner of a new and prestigious green motoring award.

Top British car magazine What Car? honoured the Ampera with its Technology Award, thanks to its innovative and usable approach to green motoring, as well as its ability to overcome the ‘range anxiety’ suffered by users of conventional electric cars.

Unlike a plug-in electric vehicle, Ampera’s E-REV system uses an on-board petrol generator to stop the battery from discharging completely, meaning that as well as a 40-mile electric-only range, the car can be driven much further between recharges. With over 70 per cent of European car journeys being below the Ampera’s electric-only range, the majority of drivers will be able to use it with zero exhaust emissions and no petrol consumption, but with the peace of mind of knowing it is capable of undertaking much longer journeys without recharging if necessary.

Presenting the award alongside Mayor of London Boris Johnson at a ceremony in the UK capital, What Car? editor Steve Fowler said: “Of the myriad approaches to cutting CO2 from our cars, the Ampera’s Voltec system is one of the cleverest. It’s simple, should be effective, and as it can be adapted to be used with fuel cells, it’s pretty future proof, too.”

Accepting the honour, GM Europe Director of Advanced Vehicle Development, Gherardo Corsini, said: “This is a real honour for all involved in the development of Ampera and is further proof that the Voltec drive system is widely becoming recognised, both across the industry and to the general public, as the most usable and realistic form of alternative propulsion available in the near-term future.”

Ampera production is due to begin in 2011, with the first UK cars on sale from early 2012.