Spark EV: I'm not dead yet!

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FutureFolly

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
Messages
141
The Detroit Free Press quotes a GM exec commenting on the fate of the Spark EV saying it "will stay in the lineup for now," but a true Sonic EV has been ruled out. If it isn't bad news, it's good news.

With the next generation Spark EV reported to become the Opel Karl EV and the ICE Spark staying in the US market, even reintroducing the Spark EV after a hiatus from the US market becomes very simple. Even if demand is strong for the Spark EV, who knows when LG will be able to produce enough cells to support the Volt, Bolt, Karl EV, and Spark EV.

http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2015/02/19/chevrolet-bolt-name/23627123/
 
The Opel Karl IS a Chevy Spark. I didn't list the Opel Ampera because GM is pulling that out of Europe, so now NA is the only market I know of where the Volt is sold.

Mitsubishi has already said they are waiting to launch the Outlander PHEV here until their supplier has enough battery capacity to meet demand here. The Karl EV may be substituting for the Bolt until LG can support the Bolt in two large markets.

Four months ago when the rumor mill was talking about a small EV for Europe, everyone assumed it would be either a Spark EV motor in something like an Opel Adam or an Opel badged version of the then rumored Sonic EV that turned out to be the Bolt.

The big reveal was that GM's primary EV for Europe IS the Spark EV, not just the guts like everyone assumed. After being pulled as a poor selling Chevy, it's back as an Opel. Now all it would take for the Spark EV to stay in the US would be some badging as a Chevy again, which could happen at any point during the life cycle. These are some difficult tea leaves to read though.

In my head I imagine the process like this:

Evil grinning German executive gets out of the Spark EV with American Executive
GE:Send me this car.
AE:We can just send you motors and battery packs.
GE:No, this one will do quite well...
AE:You know you stopped selling this car last year, right?
GE:That was not THIS car...

So the Spark EV has already been guaranteed a second generation, but its fate in the US is still up in the air. My dream is for the Volt, Spark EV, and Bolt to all be on sale at the same time so GM can offer buyers 50, 100, or 200 miles of all electric range. It would be a great arsenal to make a push against Nissan in the affordable EV space.
 
Are you sure the Opel Karl is not the SONIC ??
It looks more like he Sonic then the Spark to me.
Maybe it is that I can't get a pic of them all side by side all at the same angle.
 
Well, the Opel Karl will launch as the redesigned 2016 Chevy Spark. I don't think they are moving the Karl/Spark to the new Gamma platform yet. Getting the only Top Safety Pick in the subcompact category probably bought them a few years before it needs to be updated.
 
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