There is a lot of excitement in the air this week as the New York Auto Show gets underway. And with the show, comes the anticipation of new models set to debut, new specs to be released, concepts to be presented. This news, strangely enough, has nothing to do with any of that.
2014 Spark EV Interior
InsideEVs did however catch up with Annalisa Bluhm, from Chevy communications, to talk about the upcoming Chevrolet Spark EV, which has an 81 (ish) all-electric range, and will sport North America’s first SAE Combined Charging System on board.
And while we did attempt (unsuccessfully) to get a more specific answer on Spark EV pricing (other than GM’s statement that it will start under $32,500)…
“Pricing is coming soon, but not at NYC (Autoshow).”
…we did find out that the imported Spark EV will be arriving a little earlier than expected.
Originally, the South Korea-made electric vehicle was not expected in the US until August or even September of this year, but after inquiring about reports of the Spark EV heading to US shores earlier than expected, Ms. Bluhm confirms to us that Chevrolet had a meeting with California dealers to “gauge interest” and we guess it went fairly well, as General Motors is indeed shipping the Spark EV ahead of schedule:
“The cars will be in dealerships by July if all goes to plan.”
100 kW Motor Nestled Under Hood
Unfortunately, and unlike with Toyota’s RAV4 EV, interested buyers from outside California (and Oregon) will have to wait for wider availability, as General Motors has apparently had participating dealers agree to only sell to residents of their home states.
The Chevrolet Spark has a 20 kWh liquid-cooled battery, and has a segment best, 0-60 time of 8 seconds, thanks to a 100 kW (130 hp) motor, providing 400 lb-ft of torque. The Spark EV also has a 8 year/100,000 mile warranty.
The Spark EV also goes on sale in Europe in Q1 of 2014 , and in Canada as a fleet only vehicle for MY 2014.
Exclusive: Chevrolet Confirms Spark EV Will Arrive Early, On Sale This July In US