Opel now testing Ampera ER-EV mules in Germany

Friday, September 4, 2009

Opel now testing Ampera ER-EV mules in Germany

Posted by SharK at 10:09 AM

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM, Opel

The Opel Ampera concept and one of the Cruze mules - click above for high-res image gallery

Now that the GM's Chevy Volt engineering team here in the U.S. is starting to get their hands on the 80 IVER prototypes, some of the Cruze based mules they have been using since last fall are being freed up for other uses. That means the engineers at Opel can now get some for local testing in Germany. The first two freshly re-stickered Ampera mules are now doing duty at the Dudenhofen proving near near Opel's Russelsheim headquarters.

Opel engineers have been involved in the Volt program since the start of the program, and have done a lot of battery pack testing at the lab in Mainz-Kastel. Presumably, at least a few of the IVER cars will eventually make their way over to Europe as well. The Ampera is scheduled to be launched in Europe sometime in 2011 after the Volt launches in the U.S. in November 2010. Initial supplies of the Ampera will come from the same Detroit factory as the Volt, with European production unlikely to start until the second-generation car arrives.

Gallery: Opel Ampera-Cruze test mules