The compact vans, outwardly no different from their counterparts, did not even have a hint of camouflage film. However, a keen eye of car spies noticed an important detail: power cables leading to charging devices were connected to the cars.
So, is Opel developing a family electric car? Otherwise, it is hard to explain why both test Merivas have no exhaust pipes, and the trunks are filled with numerous electronic measuring devices. The guess was confirmed by a photo of the interior of one of the cars: the interior is completely factory. The most notable thing in it is a noticeable yellow sticker on the dashboard with the inscription Meregio BEV.
This clarifies a lot, because Meregio is an abbreviation for the name of the German government's federal project Minimum Emission Region (literally, 'region of minimum emissions'). The German authorities aim to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020 and increase energy efficiency. And BEV stands for Battery Electric Vehicle, that is, 'electric car'.
But even after studying the interior photos, questions remain. One of the main ones: why would an electric car need a lever of a regular Opel robotic gearbox? Perhaps these are not purely electric vehicles, but plug-in hybrids based on the technologies of the Ampera model, whose European debut is expected in November? In short, it is a complete mystery.
