!NEW! Opel Ampera Wins "eCar Award 2013" As Best Overall Concept

• Opel Ampera wins award in the new category "First Evergreens"
• Opel CEO Dr. Neumann accepts prize at the IAA in Frankfurt

The price has been handed over to Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann by the editors-in-chief Bernd Wieland (on left) and Olaf Schilling. 

In 2010, the revolutionary Opel Ampera won the newly introduced "eCar Award” as the "Innovation of the Year"; in 2011 the series production vehicle was voted "eCar of the Year". And not even two years after its launch, the electric car with the clever range extender concept is already one of the first evergreens in the electric car segment: more than 13,000 readers of Auto Bild and Auto Test chose the Ampera over 15 competitors as the "best overall concept" among the "first evergreens" of electric mobility. At the IAA in Frankfurt the initiators of the "eCar Award", editors-in-chief Bernd Wieland (Auto Bild) and Olaf Schilling (Auto Test), congratulated Opel CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann on this success.

"The trendsetting propulsion concept of our Ampera was convincing from the very start," said Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann at the award ceremony. "The fact that the Ampera is now already regarded as an 'evergreen' and the readers have selected it as the best overall concept shows us that the technology combining electric drive and a range extender is not only well received, but also that it has proven itself in real-world mobility."

As an important boost for the further proliferation of electric mobility, Opel has just lowered the entry-level price for the Ampera to 38,300 Euro (RRP incl. VAT in Germany) – 7,600 Euro less than before. The automaker is thus again making innovative mobility solutions accessible to a broader customer base.

Opel Ampera: Electric mobility suitable for everyday use

The Opel Ampera is the first electric vehicle that does not require any changes in habit or attitude. A unique 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack feeds an advanced, 111 kW/150 hp electric drive unit to deliver between 40 and 80 km of pure electric operation with zero emissions – depending on terrain, driving technique and temperature – when fully charged. In extended-range mode, which activates whenever the battery has reached its minimum state of charge, power is seamlessly inverted to the electric drive unit from a generator driven by a gasoline engine. This enables a total driving range of more than 500 kilometers without refueling. The Ampera’s electric propulsion system delivers instant torque of 370 Nm that enables zero to 100 km/h acceleration in under ten seconds and a top speed of 161 km/h.