Opel explored electric driving decades before today’s EV era

Opel’s electric-car story began in 1968, when the Kadett Stir-Lec I adopted the range-extender principle. Decades later, that technology would reach mass production in the Opel Ampera.

Three years after the Stir-Lec I, Georg von Opel, grandson of company founder Adam Opel, set six world records for electric vehicles with the Opel Elektro GT. Its two electric motors delivered a combined 88 kW, or 120 horsepower, and pushed the car to 188 km/h.

Opel continued its electric research in the 1990s with the Impuls program. The Impuls I, based on the Kadett E, offered about 80 kilometers of range and a top speed of 100 km/h. The Impuls II used the Astra station-wagon platform, while the Impuls III became Opel’s first large-scale electric-vehicle testing program. A fleet of 20 cars was tested on Germany’s Rügen island and in the Aachen, Maastricht and Liège region. In 1995, the Combo Plus prototype extended electric drive to commercial vehicles.

The company presented the Flextreme Concept at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, using the Voltec range-extender system. The Flextreme GT/E Concept followed at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. In 2011, the Opel Ampera brought the range-extender system into mass production, with four seats, a 111 kW motor and a 16 kWh battery. It could travel 40 to 80 kilometers electrically.

The Corsa-e became Opel’s first electric Corsa in 2019. It won the Golden Steering Wheel in 2020, followed by the Mokka-e in 2021. Astra Electric, Frontera Electric and Grandland Electric later expanded the lineup. In 2024, Opel said it became the first German manufacturer to offer its entire product range, including the Combo, Vivaro and Movano light commercial vehicles, in fully electric versions. The Grandland Electric AWD now leads the passenger range with 239 kW, while the Mokka GSE delivers 207 kW, 345 Nm of torque and a 0-to-100 km/h time of 5.9 seconds.