The Vauxhall Ampera, the Volt’s brother for the United Kingdom market, has just completed a 170-mile drive between Vauxhall plants in Luton, Bedfordshire and Ellesmere Port, Merseyside. More than anything, the drive underlined the possibility of the Ampera being built in the UK.

Vauxhall hopes the country’s government will keep its promise to provide incentives up to £5000 ($7,530 at today’s exchange rate) for early buyers of electric vehicles. If the UK does indeed offer such an incentive, Vauxhall could build the Ampera at the Ellesmere Port plant, which tops all other General Motors plants in the UK in terms of quality.

Last week, UK business secretary Vince Cable announced that his country will no longer support bailouts in the automotive sector. Since an industry-wide incentive is no direct bailout by any stretch of the imagination, the Ampera may end up being manufactured in the UK after all. For now, the Ampera will be built alongside the Volt at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck factory.

[Source: Autocar]