You would think that after the General Motors fiasco over the original EV1, which was documented in the Hollywood documentary, “Who killed the electric car?”, that the big American corporation would never touch another electric car for as long as they both shall live. GM did however, with the Chevy Volt and now they’re doing the same with the Spark. Electric, Spark, Volt. Get it? Anyway, this is the news out of the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Impressively for GM, both the drive unit and the motor will be assembled in GM’s White Marsh plant and that’s the first time that a U.S. automaker has built a complete electric motor and drive unit for a pure EV model in the States.
The Spark EV features a revised exterior with a Volt-like grille, more aerodynamic fenders and an integrated rear spoiler. There is also a full-length under-body panel, rear diffuser and a lower air intake with an active shutter system for even better aerodynamics. Thanks to these there is an approximate 4 km gain on EV range.
Power is provided by a 20+ kWh lithium-ion battery, which drives a 96 kW electric motor with 542 Nm of torque. The Chevy Spark EV will sprint to 100 km/h in less than 8 seconds as a result. When the battery is depleted, it can be fully recharged in less than seven hours using a 240V outlet. If that’s too long, an SAE Combo DC Fast Charger can give an 80% charge in just 20 minutes.
The cabin adopts a digital instrument cluster, ‘Electric Blue’ trim and chrome accents. There’s also a MyLink infotainment system and a ‘confidence’ gauge that shows the expected driving range based on conditions.
When it goes on sale next year it will be available in California, Oregon, Canada, South Korea and a few other international markets. Detailed pricing information hasn’t been released, but Chevrolet says the Spark EV will cost less than US$25 000 after tax incentives in the U.S., or roughly R225 000 on a direct currency conversion. That’s not bad, when you consider the Honda Jazz Hybrid costs close to that and the Spark is offered with an 8-year/160 000 km warranty and is eligible for California’s High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) highway lanes.
