Vauxhall announces GSe, a new performance electric sub-brand
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Vauxhall has announced the launch of a new electric performance car sub-brand, dubbed ‘GSe’, which will sit at the top of the firm’s model line-up and offer sharper looks and more driver-focused chassis set-ups than the rest of the range.
“GSe will offer sports handling and looks ,combined with the performance and responsibility of electrified powertrains,” said James Taylor, acting managing director at Vauxhall.
“Sitting atop the newly simplified Vauxhall range, the GSe name is both a nod to GSi performance models from our heritage as well being a complement to the GS versions in our line-up today.
“Vauxhall is committed to electrifying Britain and GSe shows that performance and driving pleasure are set to be part of our electric future.”
The company has said it plans to offer a pure-electric version of every model on sale from 2024 and to only sell electric vehicles from 2028 — two years ahead of the government’s ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
Vauxhall’s electric line-up is already strong, with pure-electric versions of all the vans in its range, the Combo, Vivaro and Movano, as well as Corsa Electric (previously known as the Corsa-e), Mokka Electric and passenger versions of the Combo and Vivaro, dubbed the Combo Life Electric and Vivaro Life Electric, respectively.
That line-up will be joined next year by battery-powered versions of the new Astra and Astra Sports Tourer estate.
Vauxhall’s Stellantis group stablemate Peugeot has just revealed some of the details on the 2023 Peugeot e-308, with which the electric Astra will share its underpinnings.
Powering the Peugeot will be a single 115kW (154bhp) electric motor driving the front wheels with power supplied by an all-new 54kWh battery pack using a new chemistry (80% nickel, 10% cobalt and 10% manganese) to provide a range of around 250 miles.
Judging by past form at Stellantis in using the same battery and motor combinations across a wide range of models — think of the ubiquitous 50kWh battery/ 134bhp motor arrangement powering the Peugeot e-208, Vauxhall Corsa Electric, Combo Life Electric, Citroën ë-C4, et al — expect to see the e-308’s new powertrain adopted by plenty of other models in the coming years.
Little else is known about the GSe sub-brand at present, with Vauxhall saying that it will release further details in due course.
The GSe badge first appeared on a 2021 Manta restomod, called the Manta GSe Elektromod.
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- After reading about the new Vauxhall GSe brand, check out our review of the Astra hatchback
- You might also want to see our review of the family-friendly Dacia Jogger
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