For reasons that elude us, GM has decided to sell the Volt in Europe, Germany, to be more precise, in a move that will surely be the definition of cannibalism. Starting sometime soon, the model will be available in Europe's most potent economy for EUR41,950, VAT included. The same eight-year/160,000 km warranty as in the US will apply on the Voltec power train.
The announcement was made right on the floor of the Geneva Auto Show, where the Opel is displaying the Ampera, by Wayne Brannon, Chevrolet Europe president. Coincidentally, on the grounds of the same event, Opel's PHEV is being presented in production version guise.
"We believe Volt is the best solution on the planet today for worry-free electric driving", says Wayne Brannon, president and managing director of Chevrolet Europe. "Our price in Europe is based on the U.S. Volt price adjusted for transportation cost, import duties, exchange rates and homologation."
We can hardly wait to see what the reaction of the German authorities will be to the decision made by GM this week. We all remember the outrage caused by GM's decision to keep Opel in the beginning of 2010.
For those who don't know, the Volt and Ampera are, except for some minor and non-essential visual differences, the same. Even more, Opel is (still) a GM-owned company. Please feel free to tell us, in the comment box below, what could possibly be the reason behind GM's decision to sell, as soon as the Ampera is launched, basically the same vehicle under two different names. Because, as hard we've tried, we can't find any.
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