The announcement follows a similar price reduction for the model in Germany.

Vauxhall chairman Duncan Aldred told news agency Headlineauto: ‘So far the market for EVs across Europe is only about 30% of what the experts forecast and so something has to be done to encourage buyers.’

When asked about what this means for profit margins, Aldred said: ‘This was never a model that was going to make a lot of money, it is more of an investment in technology. This will be developed further in the future and actually the production costs are coming down all the time. We have to be able to showcase this sort of technology and we feel the time is right anyway to make Ampera more affordable to as many people as possible.’

Aldred does not think the future is necessarily electric anyway. ‘There is still a way to go with the internal combustion engine in terms of fuel efficiency and emissions as well as further reductions in weight.’

An announcement is expected soon on a price reduction for the Chevrolet Volt version of the Ampera, with European chief Thomas Sedren having told Headlineauto that the brand will follow Vauxhall/Opel’s suit but the actual amount of the reduction is yet to be decided.