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Ellesmere Port's bid to build Ampera hits snags

By Rob Golding Motor Industry 09 October 2009 15:02 Prime minister Gordon Brown’s personal crusade to get Vauxhall's version of the Chevrolet Volt petrol-electric plug-in hybrid – the Ampera – built in Britain's Ellesmere Port factory in 2012 is a dream delayed, CAR can disclose today.News that the UK Astra plant is the best in Europe, that the Astra's Delta platform will underpin the Ampera, and that Volt will be on US sale from 2010 had been taken to mean that Vauxhall would be churning out the cars in the north west within three years.But the prospect of an electric car industry growing up around the run-down Merseyside manufacturing site is not imminent, CAR has learned.'No Ampera to be built in Europe before 2015'Vauxhall insiders have made it clear that the car to be known as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera in Europe will be an import from the US for at least five years. One senior planner told us: 'The US will be the sole source of Amperas until at least 2015.'Bob Lutz, GM's former product supremo who recently came out of retirement as a PR, said that the low value of the dollar made the US an ideal site for the manufacturing of export cars. And with forecast sticker prices of the range-extender electric car standing at a scary £35,000+, every price saving is vital to its marketability.The European market also needs time to get its electricity recharge infrastructure in place before it is worth making cars onshore in volume, GM high-ups point out.

Tesla Roadster Brabus – grab a drive

Pop along to MotorExpo in London this week and grab a drive in a Brabus Tesla Roadster And if you don’t mind a bit of a queue you’re in with a chance of doing what Boris Johnson did earlier this year – test drive the Tesla Roadster. Not only that, but you’ll go one better and get a go in the Brabus version. Tesla have turned up at the MotorExpo on a bit of a roll.

Renault Clio & Captur get range updates

Renault Clio & Captur get range updates The new Renault Clio and the new Renault Captur really haven’t been with us very long, but that’s not stopping Renault from extending the range of options. Both the Clio and Captur can now be ordered with the six-speed EDC auto fitted to the dCi 90 diesel engine, offering an extra option for those who just want an easy drive. If you opt for the EDC ‘box on the new Captur, you’ll get (official) economy of 72.4mpg and emissions of 95g/km, whilst the Clio offers 76mpg and 83.1mpg.