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UK bans Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid commercial over range claims

Lost in translation, Vol. 2.

An advertisement for the Chevrolet Volt’s sister vehicle was banned in the UK for what an advertising watchdog group said was a misleading claim about the extended-range plug-in’s driving range, UK’s Daily Mail reports.

The ad for the Vauxhall Ampera showed endurance runners and claimed a 360 mile “range” with the implication that the propulsion source was all electricity, according to the charge. The spot noted an “additional power source” – i.e., the car’s on-board gas-powered generator – in small print. Because the ad wasn’t clear that the car only has about a 35-to-50-mile range on electric power, the Advertising Standards Authority banned it. You can see it below, though.

The Volt/Ampera’s extended-range/plug-in issue has repeatedly crept up on both sides of the Atlantic, with many electric-drive observers calling for parent company General Motors to call the model a plug-in hybrid because of the gas-powered range. Meanwhile, General Motors’ Opel division, which also sells a version of the Ampera in Europe said in June that the car was Europe’s best-selling passenger electric vehicle. The Volt/Ampera won the 2012 European Car of the Year Award in March.

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