Chevy Spark EV Now Being Manufactured In USA

Update April 22: As a reader notes: “The Spark EV is made in Korea, the motor will be made in the USA, that’s it. They are actually shipping the motors to Korea, putting them in the car then shipping the car back. Leaf is all made in the USA now, motors batteries whole car. And they have already announced pricing on the Spark, it is thousands more than the Leaf.” (Link in the comments, but it doesn’t include mention of the price.)

For Americans who are itching for more manufacturing jobs in the US, I think you’ll be happy to hear that GM is now manufacturing the Chevy Spark EV in White Marsh, Maryland (at its Baltimore Operations plant).

When Nissan started Nissan Leaf manufacturing in the US, the price of the vehicle dropped several thousand dollars. The bottom line is, it costs a lot of money to ship cars around the world. So, with Chevy Spark EV production being in the US from the start, it should get out of the box for a pretty low price (waiting to hear what the price will be).

The 2014 Chevy Spark EV website has a lot of details you can peruse, but some of the key ones are that the electric car can go from 0 to 60 mph in under eight seconds, thanks to its instant torque. As the website states: “The connection is direct: head, right foot, power, pavement. Without the traditional transmission, torque has nowhere to go except to the tires and road.”

The car’s 20 kWh lithium-ion battery is backed by an 8-year/100,000-mile limited warranty. The battery uses liquid thermal conditioning (unlike the Leaf), “which maximizes its performance in extreme weather conditions.” It also utilizes regenerative braking, of course.

Chevy offers up some more details on the charging, if that’s a new matter to you (or you just want to know the Spark EV’s specific detes): “Charging is easy peasy in the 2014 Spark EV. Just plug Spark EV into a standard household 120V outlet^†, or for a faster charge, opt for the available 240V dedicated charging system that charges up the battery in just seven hours. Have it installed wherever you park your Spark EV so you can charge at night and be good to go by morning…. And Spark EV will offer an available out-of-home charging option^†. Get charged up by the first SAE combo DC fast-charging stations that will charge the battery to 80 percent in just 20 minutes. The future of electric charging stations is coming in late Summer 2013, and Spark EV is ready.”

Of course, the Spark EV uses some of the same technology as the Chevy Volt, which was the best-selling rechargeable car of 2012 (though, seems unlikely to take the top spot in 2013).

Lastly (for now), the Spark EV has a turning radius of 32.6 feet, which is apparently better than the Mini Cooper, making parking a cinch.