GM Announces Spark EV

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

GM confirms

Chevrolet today announced it will produce an all-electric version of the Chevrolet Spark mini-car – the Spark EV. It will be sold in limited quantities in select U.S. and global markets starting in 2013, including California.

A123 Systems will supply the advanced nanophosphate lithium-ion battery packs that will power the Spark EV. Details on specific markets, range, quantities and pricing will be announced later.

Well, I was wrong about the battery supplier. Otherwise, we should have seen this coming. The only question now is this: how does GM overcome its own “range anxiety” fearmongering? And by doing so, will it hurt the Volt’s marketing?


Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • FleetofWheel FleetofWheel on Oct 12, 2011

    "How does GM overcome range anxiety..." Don't they promote OnStar as some kind of InstaNanny that will make better any automotive bad situation? Battery runs down, just press the OnStar button.

  • Pete Zaitcev Pete Zaitcev on Oct 12, 2011

    Remember how Apple switched from PPC to x86? One day PPC was superior, the next day Apple faithful welcomed Intel. Did not even blink. People's capacity to forget discarded marketing messages overnight is not to be underestimated. Actually, we have an example closer to home. Remember when Volt was supposed to be a range-extended EV, but turned out to be a hybrid, a more expensive Prius? Did one consumer care?

    • Doctor olds Doctor olds on Oct 12, 2011

      @Pete Zaitcev- Volt IS an EREV. It is fully capable of operating for its entire life as a pure electric. The engine could be completely removed from the vehicle. Simply because it is capable of operating as a hybrid, in you notion, does not mean it is only a hybrid. It is an electric car with onboard range extending capability.

  • Carlson Fan Carlson Fan on Oct 12, 2011

    "Remember when Volt was supposed to be a range-extended EV, but turned out to be a hybrid, a more expensive Prius? Did one consumer care?" If you really believe this then you can't possibly have a clue as to how the Volt works. Real world is that Volt owners have put 2000 miles plus on their cars and still have the fuel the dealer put in the tank. Let me see you do that with a Prius.

  • Dhanson865 Dhanson865 on Oct 12, 2011

    fwiw I'd take the rear rims all the way around if I had the choice between the two assuming equal weight/cost.

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