Opel Ampera-e to change the world, but not Australia

GM Europe's boss, Karl-Thomas Neumann has announced that the Opel Ampera-e will have the power to eliminate range anxiety when it's launched at the Paris motor show, because it will cover 400km on a single charge.

Neumann also announced late last night at a press conference in Frankfurt that the Ampera-e, that's also known as the Chevrolet Bolt in the US market, is evidence of "Opel democratising the electric car" for global buyers, hinting at aggressive pricing.

Unfortunately, neither Australia nor UK buyers will be part of the pure-electric vehicle revolution, as both the Chevy Bolt and Opel Ampera-e will be made exclusively for left-hand drive markets.

Originally, it had been hoped the Opel version would be rebadged a Holden following news British brand, Vauxhall, was lobbying GM for right-hand drive vehicles.

It was thought the more established pure-electric UK market would then fund the business case for the small Ampera-e to be imported Down Under - but now those plans have been shelved following the news that the Ampera-e will not be made in right-hand drive.

Created to sit above a Barina (or Corsa) but below the Cruze (or Astra), the compact five-seat hatch is to come with a drivetrain that pumps out 147kW and 360Nm.

The Bolt is powered by a GM-developed electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack with a new “nickel-rich” chemistry that helped it travel between 383km between charges in US-certified tests. It will also sprint from standstill to 100km/h in less than seven-seconds, although top speed is said to be limited to 150km/h.

Under the New European Driving Cycle for pure-electric vehicles the small Ampera-e out performs its US twin and is claimed to clear 400km without charging "by a considerable margin".

In the same tests the BMW i3 recorded a 300km range, the Nissan LEAF 250km and the VW e-Golf just 190km.

In the US the Chevrolet Bolt is expected to sell for around $40,000 in our money, after US government subsidies; it's not known how much Opel plans to sell the Ampera-e for in Europe.

Issuing a statement following the news the pure-electric Ampera-e would not be available in right-hand drive, Vauxhall's chairman, Rory Harvey, said that his brand was "committed to having a future EV presence in its range".

Harvey said that Vauxhall would soon begin evaluating left-hand drive models to gauge demand among the British brand's customers, but said the Ampera-e would not be available "in the current generation".