We've been waiting for this car for a long time.
We're in Opel's central plant in Rüsselsheim.
Hallo!
Hallo.
So that's it, the Opel Ampera E. Made in the USA
That's not exactly true.
It was developed in cooperation with our colleagues at Chevrolet.
We were equal partners.
There's plenty of Opel DNA in there, as you'll see for yourself!
The car has been touted as Opel's hope for the future.
It's fully electric with state-of-the-art battery technology.
But where's it being made, exactly?
It's being assembled in Orion, Michigan, in the US.
Sure, it's an import.
The car is only made on their production line.
So it's not made in Rüsselsheim.
That's right
May I get in?
Of course.
Parent company General Motors is making and selling this model in the US as the Chevrolet
Bolt.
In Europe it's being brought to market as the Ampera E. Supply is extremely limited
because GM is selling off its Opel unit.
The future of this electric model is unclear.
We've been told we're the first German TV team to test the vehicle.
We're driving from Rüsselsheim to Bergisch-Gladbach, a distance of 180 kilometres.
We're going to meet the car expert who can explain why this car took so long to deliver.
When it finally comes to market, it will be the longest-range e-car in Germany -- up to
500 kilometres range.
And I'm about to take it out onto the Autobahn, where we'll see how far it really can drive.
The car is full of lights and bells and whistles.
It encourages the driver to drive more slowly, drive more economically.
Or like right now for example, generate energy while driving down hills.
It's an entirely new way of driving.
The only problem is, we have that appointment coming up and I have to hurry a bit to get
there on time.
We want to know what will happen to the Ampera E when French corporation PSA takes over Opel.
Of course it's clear to GM that electromobility is the technology of the future, so GM wanted
to maintain it as a core competency.
So the entire competency was brought to the US, to Detroit, including all patents and
everything else that's connected with it.
You can expect something similar between PSA and Opel.
The core competencies of electromobility will be held in Paris rather than Rüsselsheim.
That's too bad.
Well, it's something we have to live with.
I think Opel first has to show that it can make money and further improve its image.
An Opel Ampera E could help with that.
Though that won't happen if GM is barely shipping any cars to Europe."
In Norway are there are already 4000 orders for the car.
That's due to the car's unusually long range.
But there's a waiting list of up to one and a half years.
That looks like a charging station.
I'm going to drive in there now.
I hope it works.
It's working!
Success!
So, have a look.
310 kilometre range.
We've reached that after charging for half an hour.
This is a good car.
It's comfortable and it runs well.
You can reserve an Ampera E for a fee of 1000 euros.
But Opel gives you no guarantee that you'll actually get one.