We all know that as car makers master the art of mass producing hybrids and electric cars, the prices will plummet and the cars become more accessible. But we also know that car makers never shave three and half grand off a model out the blue, unless they are struggling to sell them. That seems to be the case with the Vauxhall Ampera.

This car is the British cousin of the Opel Ampera, which itself is the European version of the Chevy Volt. The Euro boys never enjoyed the same success as their American relative, even though, save the badge, they are identical to it. The Europeans probably didn’t like the looks, or the range-extender, or – and this is more likely – the price.

Even with this £3,500 discount the Ampera is an expensive car. The base model can now be had for £28,750 on-the-road, inclusive of the Government’s £5,000 grant. The range-topping Electron model – which comes with climate control, rear view camera, Bose Energy Efficient Series sound system, hard drive with 30GB music file capacity and satellite navigation system -starts from £30,495 on-the-road.

Vauxhall Ampera is an electric car with a real-world battery range of between 25-50 miles. Do not despair though, as it comes with its on board generator in form of a 1.4 liter range-extender petrol engine. When that kicks in, it’ll provide up to an additional 300-plus mile range.