Vauxhall increases sales projections for Ampera but UK plug-in grant take-up is slow
Sat 16 July 2011
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Vauxhall has raised it projections of sales of the hybrid Ampera following reports of high levels of interest among large fleet buyers. Vauxhall expects to sell up to 3,000 Amperas during 2012 and has increased the number of specialist dealers capable of servicing the car. Meanwhile, take-up of UK government grants to help assist the purchase of EVs in the UK has reached only 680 after 6 months of the scheme.
Vauxhall has recently confirmed that the Ampera - known as Volt in the US - will cost from £28,545 after the government's £5,000 electric vehicle grant, when it goes on sale.
Vauxhall says it expects the Ampera to sell better than its pure electric battery rivals because it includes a petrol engine as well as a battery which can provide an extended range and overcome drivers' 'range anxiety'.
Reports in the trade press say that some big blue chip companies are showing a lot of interest in the Ampera according to Vauxhall chief executive Karl-Friedrich Stracke. Stracke expects Ampera sales across Europe to reach 10,000 a year by 2013 with 70% of sales going to fleets. As sales increase, so do the chances of Ampera production moving across the Atlantic from where it is currently made in Detroit.
An agreement already confirmed between Europcar and Vauxhall/Opel will see a significant number of Amperas available for hire across Europe.
Meanwhile, according to a Parliamentary statement, the Government says that fewer than 700 cars have been ordered through the Plug-in grant scheme in the first six months of its existence. The scheme was introduced on 1 January, offering motorists a 25% discount on the cost of an ultra-low emission car, up to a maximum of £5,000. The Government has allocated £43m to the grant until 31 March 2012.
Figures from the Department for Transport show that 215 electric vehicle grants were issued in the last three months (April to June), less than half the 465 issued in the previous quarter.
The slow take-up to date is partly a result of of the limited supply and choice of EVs; a limitation which should become less of a factor over time.
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