Vauxhall’s first foray into the electric car market reached an important milestone last Friday (April 23nd), when the first of its Ampera models rolled off the pre-production line.

It means the car manufacturer is on course to bring the eco-friendly vehicle, which can travel 40 miles purely on battery power, to the European market by 2012.

"We’re right on target for producing the Ampera for European markets later next year," said Andrew Farah, vehicle chief engineer for Ampera. "There’s still work to be done, but being able to drive an Ampera off our pre-production line is a great accomplishment for the teams here and in Europe."

In the coming months, more pre-production vehicles will undergo testing before the final, fine-tuned version goes into production.

ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, revealed in its latest annual tax guide that an increasing number of European Union member states are now offering incentives to owners and buyers of electric vehicles.

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