In Europe, the Chevy Bolt EV will be known as the Opel Ampera-e. In the US, it’s known as the car that have more range than the Tesla Model 3. But in the UK, it will be known as forbidden fruit.
Despite it’s enthusiasm for the car in the US and mainland Europe (just see this ad), General Motors is not excited to build a right-hand drive version of the Bolt for Vauxhall to sell in the UK. The car was engineered to be RHD, but that doesn’t mean A GM spokesperson told Automotive News Europe that the company is taking, “a more cautious approach. If you don’t want to lose too much money, we prefer not to make right-hand-drive yet. The decision was partly financial.”
There’s good reason for GM to be a bit shy about selling the Ampera-e in the UK. The European version of the Chevy Volt (which had the now-confusing name Ampera) was cancelled after weak sales. Across the continent, it only sold a max of about 5,200 units a year, despite early claims that it would do double that. ANE says that electric vehicle sales are up over nine percent in the UK so far this year, but that isn’t enough for Vauxhall to get in on the otherwise cheery Bolt/Ampera-e scene. Maybe down the road.
Related Video:
