PRICES have been announced for the new Vauxhall Astra Electric which will be available later in the summer costing from £39,995.

Two trims will be available initially - GS and the range topping Ultimate model with the latter priced from £43,110.

The Astra Electric features Vauxhall's next-generation 54kWh lithium-ion battery for improved performance, with up to 258 miles of range between charges and is available with the brand's most advanced technology suite yet, Intelli-Drive 2.0 which adds semi-autonomous lane change and intelligent speed adaption.

The hatch will be joined by the Astra Electric Sports Tourer later this year which brings to six the number of electric models across Vauxhall's passenger car range.

Prices for the Sports Tourer are still to be announced but the high performance GSe plugi-in hybrid variant will cost from £43,250 and comes with uprated suspension and performance of 0 to 62mph in 7.5 seconds with a maximum of 146mph.

It can manage 39 of EV-only driving and has a CO2 output of 26g/km which is the equivalent of more than 250 miles to the gallon.

Vauxhall already has a fully electric light commercial vehicle line-up and by 2028 it will be an electric-only manufacturer, seven years ahead of UK Government targets.

The company says that from a fast charger and 80 per cent recharge can be done in half-an-hour.

With the face of the new Astra styled to include Vauxhall's Vizor front panel that houses the LED headlights and sensors that make up the driver aids and safety technologies.

The nose of the car also houses the new Vauxhall Griffin logo while Ultimate variants have IntelliLux Pixel Matrix LED headlamps with 168 individual LED lights.

Performance data sees the Astra Electric accelerate from 0-62mph in 9.2 seconds with a top-speed of 106mph.

Inside, the car is fitted with a 10-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10-inch central display while on Ultimate models a HUD head-up display is included.

Intelli-Drive 2.0, Vauxhall's latest driver assistance package, makes its first appearance on Astra Electric and is standard on Ultimate models.

Upgrades to the system include Advanced Intelligent Speed Adaption, which monitors both road signs and weather conditions to adjust the vehicle speed.

Intelli-Drive 2.0 also adds semi-automated lane change assist, which works at speeds between 45mph and 70mph and enables the driver to instruct the vehicle to change lanes, conditions permitting.

Other features already available with Intelli-Drive include lane positioning assist and rear cross traffic alert, which uses the radars on the rear bumpers to detect moving objects to the rear sides of the vehicle.

Ultimate models also benefit from Intelli-Air clean air technology and wireless smartphone charging, while the Intelli-Vision 360 panoramic parking camera and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto is standard on all models.