The Chevrolet Bolt EV's Range has been beaten
Recently, Chevrolet's new 100% electric vehicle, the Bolt, took the green vehicle world by storm: with an announced range of 383 km, the little vehicle took the top spot above well-established rivals like the Nissan LEAF and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, even overpassing Tesla's prediction for their Model 3.
However, there is another, strangely similar car that boasts slightly greater range: it's the Opel Ampera-E, the Bolt's German cousin.
Opel announced a total driving range of over 400 kilometers on single charge.
Why? The motor is the same, as are the batteries. The Ampera-E also has the same body panels as the Bolt (apart from some minor differences on the bumpers because of Europe's crash regulations). The difference is in the way range is calculated in Europe and North America.
In Europe, the organization that calculates a vehicle's emissions (and now EV range) uses a five-cycle process, where they try and simulate driving through large cities at low speeds. Here however, the North-American process calculates the economy using an almost perfect mix of city and highway driving.
The exact range of the Opel Ampera-E will be unveiled at the Paris Auto Show. Then, once the Chevrolet Bolt EV gets here, we will see how far the owners can make it on a single charge...