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GM Europe could build the Ampera in UK
John Revill
Automotive News Europe
March 3, 2009 13:23 CET
ENLARGEA decision on Ampera production will be made soon.
GENEVA -- General Motors Europe is talking to the British government about building the Ampera extended range electric car in the UK.
General Motors’ factory in Ellesmere Port, England, would be a “logical” production site for the car, said GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster.
The Ellesmere Port factory in northwestern England builds the Astra lower-medium car. Forster said: “Ellesmere Port would be a logical place because it [Ampera] shares a lot of underpinnings with the Opel Astra.”
An Opel version of the Ampera will go on sale on the Continent starting in 2011. A right-hand drive Vauxhall version for the UK market will follow in 2012.
“We are in negotiations with the UK government [about] whether, when and if we can build the Ampera in the UK. That is one of the possibilities,” Forster told Automotive News Europe .
Another possible site for Ampera production is GM's Hamtramck, Michigan, factory that is currently building the Chevrolet Volt, he said.
Forster said a decision on Ampera production would be made “very soon.”