Chevrolet Volt launch on 2011

The new cars will be based on GM’s E-Flex hybrid system, which will first appear in the U.S. market Chevrolet Volt in late 2010. The Opel versions of the Volt won’t go on sale until 2012 and will likely be built at the same plant as the Volt, reports Automotive News Europe. However, GM could add the Volt to its European Chevrolet lineup prior to the launch of the Opel models.

The reason for the delay, explained Forster, is so the high initial costs of the E-Flex technology could be driven down and to give consumers enough time to get used to the technology.

Eventually, GM will start production of the Opel E-Flex models in Germany. The cars will ride on the same Delta II platform that will underpin the Chevrolet Volt as well as the next-generation Opel Astra and new Chevrolet Cruze compact car.

Source: GM official website


General Motors’ Europe boss Carl Peter Forster confirmed back in May that the Opel division would launch two new electric vehicles early next decade, one based on the Flextreme Concept (pictured) and another larger and more spacious model. Forster has now revealed that the first Opel electric models would be built in the U.S. and shipped over, and that they would cost up to €10,000 ($15,900) more than a similarly powered petrol model.