We never knew for sure whether the Chevrolet Spark would make its way Stateside, but today we are one step closer to having the tiny city car launched in the U.S., as GM confirmed that the vehicle will be makings its way to North America after all.
A press release from GM announcing the Indian launch of the Spark (called the Beat, the Spark name is taken) at the Delhi Auto Expo reads:
Based on GM’s global mini-vehicle architecture, the experts took 27 months to develop the Beat. Chevrolet Beat will be launched in over 150 markets around the world including those in Europe, other parts of Asia and North America in the coming days.
Obviously, North America is bigger than the United States alone – so what we see here may be the confirmation that the Spark will come to either Canada, Mexico, or the U.S. But let’s take a few seconds to read into the wording of the release, shall we?
It’s important to know that press release text is composed by professional writers. These things get revised, sometimes more than a dozen times, in order to portray the announcement in the most positive light (and to eliminate any negativity). Moreover, most scheduled press releases that companies know will be published in the future are written way ahead of the actual publish date. In effect, press releases aim not to leave anything to chance.
Knowing this, the press release from GM doesn’t seem to make any exclusions for the North American continent. So if GM isn’t planning on bringing the Spark to the U.S., we would think the release would read something like this:
Chevrolet Beat will be launched in over 150 markets around the world including those in Europe, other parts of Asia and certain parts of North America in the coming days.
In any event, GM spokespeople have dropped hints here and there about a U.S.-bound Spark, but nothing to take to the bank just yet. Today’s cheap gas prices, along with the recently-unveiled Chevy Aveo Concept, may not make sense for a Spark-sized vehicle in the U.S., but as the summer of 2008 would care to emphasize – these prices have the potential to skyrocket very quickly. So in our opinion, it would make sense to have the Spark around in the U.S. on a “just in case” basis.
And to add more gasoline to the fire, GM has a U.S.A. subsection on its official Spark website. On top of that, the Spark was designed with U.S. regulations in mind, as GM so eloquently pointed out in its press release (available after the jump.)
Behold the Chevrolet E-Spark EV. The car, shown at the 2010 Delhi Auto Expo in India and based on the current Indian market Chevrolet Spark, is regarded as India’s first four-door electric vehicle.
Not many details are available at the moment, but the E-Spark will use the powertrain from the Reva NGX Concept, which is being developed thanks to a partnership between GM India and Reva with support of the Indian government.
Note that this here E-Spark is completely unrelated to the recently-announced Chevrolet Spark city car, since the E-Spark is basically an electrified version of the current Spark sold in India. The all-new Chevy Spark (that debuted as the Beat concept at the 2007 New York Auto Show) is available in India as the Chevy Beat.
We’re getting reports that the E-Spark will have both regular drive and boost models along with regenerative brakes (as any EV should). It may also be available with either lead acid or lithium-ion batteries, with production scheduled to start sometime this year.
While some may discount this car as boring and unattractive, that wouldn’t be telling the whole story. Today, the Indian car market prizes price over any and all features, bells, and whistles – looks included. So it’s quite remarkable that the E-Spark is rumored to cost only $2,000 more than its non-EV version. That said, if the E-Spark has plug-in capability and becomes a popular choice with Indian consumers, it may overload the country’s somewhat underdeveloped grid. And then there would be darkness.
[Source: Bikencar | Images: IndianAutosBlog]
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