Opel Ampera gets 8-year, 160,000-km battery warranty

Last July, General Motors announced that the Chevrolet Volt's lithium-ion battery pack would be warranted for eight years or 100,000 miles. In a move that's expected to address fears in Europe over the durability of li-ion batteries, GM will back the 2012 Opel Ampera's pack with a similar eight-year/160,000-kilometer (99,419-mile) warranty.

Since kicking off the development of both the Volt and the Ampera, it has been GM's intention to equip the models with a battery pack that would last the life of the vehicle and The General's lengthy warranty seems to imply that the LG Chem-supplied pack is rather robust. Weighing in at 400 pounds, the water-cooled pack consists of 288 lithium polymer cells and cranks out 110 kilowatts.

The long-term durability of lithium-ion battery technology remains questionable and some people still fear being stranded on the road due to faulty batteries, but by offering an eight-year warranty on the Volt and Ampera, GM hopes to quell these concerns.

Photos copyright ©2011 Drew Phillips / AOL

[Source: Reuters]