The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV can be purchased for as little as $17,500 in some locations due to federal, state and local incentives.
General Motors will begin selling its new Chevrolet Spark EV at select dealers in California and Oregon next month for a base price of $27,495 including destination charges.
Since the little battery-electric vehicle will qualify for a federal tax credit of $7,500, that will bring its effective price to $19,995 – and possible even lower thanks to various state and local tax credits. The maker also plans to offer a three-year, $199 a month lease after a downpayment of $999.
That will position the Chevy Spark EV as one of the lowest-priced battery cars on the market, a move Chevy hopes will increase the appeal of the vehicle in a market still skeptical of electric propulsion. Based on EPA forecasts, the maker claims motorists could save as much as $150 a month on gasoline.
The Spark EV will be eligible for California's much-sought HOV lane sticker.
“The Chevrolet Spark EV is the most efficient – and now one of the most affordable – EVs you can buy” said Chris Perry, vice president, Chevrolet Marketing. “Combined with outstanding infotainment and great design, the fun-to-drive Spark EV is engineered to impress.”
Perhaps, but there’s a stiff penalty for EVs, batteries making up the single largest cost in a vehicle like the Spark. Depending upon the model, the various gasoline versions of the Chevy Spark start at anywhere from $12,995 to $16,820.
(TheDetroitBureau.com takes an early version of the Chevy Spark EV for a road test. Click Here for more.)
While General Motors has gotten into electric propulsion in a big way with the Chevrolet Volt plug-in launched in late 2010, the Spark EV is the Detroit maker’s first pure battery-electric vehicle since the EV1 was pulled from production in 1991.
(Milestone: The 100,000th plug-based car sold in the U.S. Click Herefor the story.)
While the gas versions of the Chevrolet Spark get up to 38 miles per gallon on the highway, the EV version carries an EPA combined city/highway rating of 119 MPGe – or miles per gallon equivalent. The subcompact’s 21 kilowatt-hours of lithium-ion batteries can deliver up to 82 miles per charge.
The vehicle can be recharged using a 240-volt charger in less than seven hours, while a high-speed quick-charger can pump the power up to 80% in as little as 20 minutes, according to GM.
The Chevrolet Spark EV at its LA Auto Show debut.
(Study predicts 100-fold increase in public charging stations. Click Here.)
The Spark EV will come with a substantial amount of standard equipment for its segment including a 7-inch touchscreen and MyLink infotainment system. To keep costs down, both conventional and battery versions of the Spark have integrated a wide range of third-party smartphone apps. That includes the BringGo navigation service and a version of Apple’s Siri, dubbed Siri Eyes Free.
The Spark EV Waypoint app can help plot a course to a destination that includes stops at charging stations, if necessary.
The Chevrolet Spark EV is one of a plethora of new battery-electric vehicles hitting market this year and next – and like a number of others, such as the Toyota RAV4-EV, it will see only limited distribution. In this case that means two of the bigger battery-car markets, California and Oregon.
Skeptics contend these are little more than “compliance cars,” vehicles grudgingly developed to meet the demanding requirements of California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle, or ZEV mandate. GM, however, insists it will ramp up volume if demand is there – and that, at the least, what it will learn from the Spark EV program will help in future battery-car programs.