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2018 Opel Ampera-e Priced EUR 5,700 Higher, General Motors Is To Blame

Once General Motors made the Chevrolet Bolt available nationwide, the automaker found it hard to keep production up to satisfy demand. At the Orion Assembly in Michigan, General Motors also makes the Opel Ampera-e, which is nothing more than the Bolt for the European market.
Opel Ampera-e 11 photos
Photo: Opel
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As fate would have it, the Ampera-e is gaining ground in the OId Continent. Norway, for example, can’t get enough of the electric hatchback, and this poses a question for General Motors. More to the point, what should the automaker do as it can’t satisfy demand in both Europe and stateside? Throttle back production of the Ampera-e to focus on the Bolt! If that sounds strange, the full picture will make jaws drop.

Dinside.no reports General Motors forced Opel to increase the retail price of the Ampera-e by €5,700 compared to the previous model year. That’s a lot by all accounts, and the increase in price also applies to the Ampera-e offered in Opel’s home market of Germany.

More to the point, the cheapest 2018 Ampera-e costs €46,699 not including the government incentive for EVs. According to Stein Pettersen, the public relations manager of Opel Norway, the exaggerated price hike “is simply the result of GM selling Opel to PSA.” The Dinside report is full of strong language targeted toward General Motors from the Opel official, which says a lot about the relationship between there companies.

The situation is so bad in Norway, Pettersen confirmed that headquarters instructed dealers to stop signing new sales contracts for the Ampera-e if possible, even if the customer is willing to pay the full price in cash. The reason is the waiting list for the European brother of the Bolt. According to Pettersen, the latest sales contracts will see the cars produced in the third quarter of 2019, with deliveries planned for the first part of 2020.

Business as usual, a case of bad management, unjustified arrogance, call it whatever you like, but this fiasco is a lose-lose situation for both parties. On the upside, PSA-owned Opel will stick it to General Motors with the next-generation Corsa, which has been confirmed to get an all-electric variant.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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