Chevrolet Spark EV - VIDEO

Have a look at the Spark EV!

GM starts testing electric Chevrolet Spark

General Motors is literally changing its stripes with its battery-electric powered Chevrolet Spark. The automaker is testing battery-electric versions of its Chevrolet Spark compact and is suggesting that production versions may have a single-charge range of more than 100 miles.

GM posted on Tuesday on its The Future Is Electric blog that engineers are testing a handful of electric-powered sparks. The post includes photographs the zebra-stripe-painted Spark EVs and implies that the testing is being done in Southern California and that the car has a single-charge range of about 106 miles. A video about the test is available after the jump.

As part of its centennial celebration, the automaker unveiled details about the battery-electric Spark last October, saying it would be sold in "limited quantities" starting next year. GM said the electric motor would put out 114 horsepower, or about a third more than the 83 horsepower put out by the 1.2-liter four-cylinder gas engine in the conventional Spark. That model is set to debut in the U.S. this summer.

Last December, Australia's Go Auto reported that GM may develop a plug-in hybrid-electric version of the Chevrolet Cruze.



Source: Autoblog Green

Chevy demos Beat EV in India

U.S. drivers may have to wait another year before they can take home a five-door Chevy Spark, but Chevy's new world car has already started to appear elsewhere around the globe. In India, the Chevy Beat has been available for almost a year, with both gas and diesel versions on offer.

For most of that year, GM has been showing off all-electric versions of the car around India. In November, GM brought the latest version of the Beat EV to Bangalore. The Beat EV comes packed with a 300-cell, 20-kWh lithium battery pack (larger than the Chevy Volt's 16-kWh pack) giving the little hatch a range of 130 kilometers (81 miles).

Chevy has already announced an electric version of the Chevy Spark for the U.S., with availability set for 2013. Some of the information gathered from trials of the Beat EV will be used to refine the production version of the Spark EV, but GM hasn't yet provided details on the battery size, range, or pricing of the production vehicle. The electric version of the Spark / Beat will also be available in some global markets, but GM hasn't confirmed if India will be one of these markets.

The diesel variant of the Beat carries a three-cylinder turbodiesel engine based on Fiat multijet technology. It's rated at around 56 mpg.



Source: Autoblog Green