The Chevrolet Spark (Korean: 쉐보레 스파크) is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022.

[1] It also serves as the basis for the Opel Karl in Europe,[2] Vauxhall Viva in the UK,[3][4] and VinFast Fadil in Vietnam, the latter being manufactured under license.

[citation needed] A limited-production all-electric version, the Chevrolet Spark EV, was released in the U.S. in selected markets in California and Oregon in June 2013.

The Spark EV was the first all-electric passenger car marketed by General Motors since the EV1 was discontinued in 1999, and also the first offered for retail sale by GM (the EV1 was available only on lease).

The latter had air conditioning, wheel covers, body-colored bumpers, rear spoiler, fog lights, and a stereo, with optional features such as roof rails, power steering, central locking, electric front windows, antilock brakes, and driver airbag.

[19] The Lechi has also received certain powertrain updates, making the car economical enough to qualify for a subsidy and a tax break from the Chinese government.

The upper body was revised, based again on a design by Italdesign Giugiaro, the S-Tec engines were updated, and the car's drag coefficient was lowered, resulting in better fuel economy.

In 2008, the 800 cc engine was revised to fall below the 120 g/km level, thus qualifying for the UK's £35 road tax band and no London congestion charge.

[25] As of 2011, VIDAMCO of Vietnam produces the Matiz M200 as the Chevrolet Spark Lite in complete knock-down (CKD) form at its Hanoi production facility.

[26] In India, the local manufacturer GM India produced two special editions of this generation - the Chevrolet Spark LPG, a version equipped with a sequential injection-type liquified petroleum gas kit, unveiled on the World Environment Day in New Delhi, and the Chevrolet Spark Muzic, introduced in 2009.

Euro NCAP test results for a five-door hatchback variant on a 2005 registration: The redesigned Matiz (codenamed M300) was launched in 2009 and is based on the 2007 Chevrolet Beat concept car.

In some Latin American markets, the Beat name was also used, while Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru received it as the Spark GT.

The Beat and its notchback version were discontinued from the Mexican market in early August 2021, giving the production run from 2018 to 2021 model years.

Based on the mid-level 1LT trim of the Spark, the front and rear passenger seats are removed and replaced with storage compartments that can carry 80 pizzas, two 2-liter bottles of soda, and dipping sauces.

Production is limited to less than 200 units and once each car reaches 100,000 miles, it will be retired and returned to Roush, where it will be restored to stock form and sold as a used Spark (all four factory seatbelts and airbags are left fully intact, and covered by plastic panels).

On 5 August 2021, the Beat was discontinued in Mexico due to the Talegaon, India, plant being closed, leaving the Aveo as their entry-level model in said market.

The Spark EV was a compliance car specifically designed to meet the government mandate on automobile manufacturers to increase the penetration of electric automobiles into the fleet of all operating vehicles on the road in certain US states, but was not intended for broad adoption in the broader US market, nor produced and sold in quantities that would meet demand for such vehicles in the open market where no such government rules exist.

[75][76] In October 2011, General Motors announced the planned production of the Chevrolet Spark EV, with availability limited to select markets starting in 2013.

[78] Within the framework of GM's vehicle electrification strategy,[79] the Spark EV was the first all-electric passenger car marketed by General Motors in the U.S. since the EV1, which had been discontinued in 1999.

[86] In total, it was estimated from incentive data that 7,371 Spark EVs were sold or leased to customers in the United States, including a few leftover vehicles in 2017.

[88] The electric car was initially powered by a 21.3 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO) battery pack supplied by A123 Systems.

[90] In 2014, for the 2015 model year, the battery pack supplier was changed to LG Chem[71] and the chemistry was changed to lithium-ion (Li-ion) which resulted in a smaller capacity pack (19 kWh) while maintaining the same EV range,[91] which was estimated at 82 mi (132 km) with a combined (city and highway) economy rating of 119 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (0.176 kW⋅h/km; 0.28 kW⋅h/mi) under the EPA cycle for all model years.

[72][97] The electric motor and final drive unit were assembled in GM's Baltimore Operations plant in White Marsh, then shipped to South Korea where they were fitted to the vehicles.

[98] Alongside the new battery for the 2015 model year, torque output was reduced to 443 N⋅m (327 ft⋅lb) while power rose to 105 kW (141 hp) and the drive ratio was also changed from 3.17 to 3.87.

[102][103] Mildly restyled and equipped variants were marketed as the Holden Spark in Australia and New Zealand' Opel Karl in Europe, Vauxhall Viva in the UK, and VinFast Fadil in Vietnam (produced under license).

In North America, at introduction, the fourth-generation Spark is powered by a 1.4-litre, 1,399 cc (85 cu in) LV7 DOHC I4 gasoline engine producing 98 hp (73 kW) and 94 pound-feet (127 N⋅m) torque.

[104] The Spark was launched for the Mexican market on 4 November 2015, as a 2016 model and only offered in the LT and LTZ trim lines, both of them powered by a 1.4-liter engine.

[107] For the 2018 model year, GM introduced the Activ trim level between the 1LT and 2LT trims, including leatherette-trimmed seating surfaces, heated front seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel, aluminum-alloy wheels, unique black exterior styling elements, roof rails, rear liftgate badging, and ground clearance increased by 0.4 inches.

In Colombia, the Matiz was imported by Daewoo distributors between 2002 and 2005 and then GM Colmotores began to assemble and sell it branded as Chevrolet Spark.

In Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Uruguay and Venezuela, it is sold as the Chevrolet Spark.