Opel Delays Ampera Sales over Battery Concerns

Eco-friendly improvements are not always risk-free. This appears to be the situation experienced by Opel that decided to postpone the delivery of its green Ampera hybrid.

Even though European dealers have the new car model, the company wants to make sure that its products do not threaten the safety of potential clients, AutoblogGreen informs.

Their worries are justified. The Chevy Volt battery fire questioned the safety standards previously announced by manufacturers. Also, the incident potentially threatens the entire green car industry.

Since Volt and the new Ampera share the same concepts, the company decided it is better to delay the commercialization while making sure the batteries do not represent a major risk factor.

Both kinds of car are assembled at a General Motors factory in Michigan and rely on lithium-ion batteries. Even though GM announced it is willing to buy back Volt from drivers concerned about their wellbeing, its offer did not raise much interest.