While launching any new car is a risky business, launching one that is a brand new concept brings further complications. How will it be sold? Who will buy a car, which carries a price premium and has no track record? How can customers be targeted?

Opel/Vauxhall is approaching the Ampera launch on a broad front to try and address these and other issues. British singer Katie Melua will be promoting the Ampera while touring Europe in 2011. Opel/Vauxhall is inviting potential customers, who are termed “e-pioneers” to express their interest in the car on a website and over 3,000 had done so by the Geneva Show and a total of 850 had even lodged a €150 deposit. (By the middle of April, letters of intent amounted to 4,000 and 1,500 buyers had put down deposits)

Speaking at the Geneva Show, Opel/Vauxhall marketing chief Alain Visser said he would be throwing the rule book out as far as traditional advertising goes and promised that the Ampera message would be spread with viral campaigns and using social networking websites.

Not all Vauxhall and Opel dealers will sell the Ampera. ‘There will be a good number who do because we don't want owners having to travel hundreds of miles for a service,’ explained Mr Visser. “But there is a considerable investment required in terms of new equipment, software and in the training of salesstaff and service personnel.’

As Opel/Vauxhall’s E-mobility launch director, Enno Fuchs is responsible for bringing the Ampera to market. How is he planning to do it? ‘First of all, unlike some others, we’ve said we want to penetrate the market with as many cars as possible to make an ecological impact. Hence we are planning to sell the car in as many as 24 markets in time. Given the constrained availability in the early stages, we shall start with a sub-set of those 24 – four markets in 2011 – expanding at the end of quarter one next year with right-hand-drive availability for the UK.

‘Having said that,’ continues Mr Fuchs, ‘we recognise that a lot of those customers who have shown initial interest are either fleet customers who have signed a letter of intent or private customers who have put down a deposit of €150. The main interest is coming from customers with commercial backgrounds – fleet customers. That’s partly due to the initial investment being higher than the investment for conventional combustion technology prices.’

The only drive transmitted to the Ampera’s wheels comes from an electric motor. It has a range of between 40 and 80 kilometres and the batteries can be recharged in around four hours. The range can be extended to conventional car distances by using an on-board petrol engine, which does not drive the wheels but drives a generator to supply electric power direct to the electric motor.

GM has set a uniform recommended retail price of €42,900 across Europe (£27,995 in the UK after benefitting from a £5,000 Government grant) – although there will be some variation as trim levels will differ by market.

GM will not make the Ampera available separately from its lithium-ion battery pack. ‘You can either buy it or lease it. At the moment we’re in discussions with several lease companies to provide us with rates,’ says Mr Fuchs. ‘We haven’t formally opened the ordering systems yet; that will come roughly six months before metal hits market in individual markets. It’s already somewhat difficult to manage expectations. Some “e-pioneers” signed up as early as January and for them it’s still a 10 or 11-month waiting period and we don’t want to repeat that for customers in all markets.’

Incentive schemes vary widely across Europe. ‘I guess the peak is in Spain where in some provinces you’re getting as much as €12,000 and then it can go all the way down to zero in major markets like Germany, where there’s nothing,’ explains Mr Fuchs.

How many Amperas does GM expect to sell in 2012? ‘It’s extremely difficult to predict. We can provide 10,000 or more cars if needed,’ reckons Mr Fuchs. ‘If all the interest turns into firm orders, we have sold out far into 2012 already.’