CEO Mary Barra confirmed that General Motors would no longer sell the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV at the end of the year. The information was revealed by Barra during GM’s most recent quarterly results conference when she said that the Bolt’s Orion, Michigan assembly factory would soon be upgraded to produce electric pickup trucks.
The death of the Bolt couple is not unexpected, but it occurs when the elderly couple is now more well-liked than ever. According to Motor Intelligence statistics, sales of the Bolt EV reached a record high of 38,120 units in 2022 after years of unsuccessful marketing efforts and a high-profile battery pack recall in 2021. This was made possible by drastic price drops and the introduction of the EUV model, which is similar to a crossover. In Q1 of this year, 19,700 additional Bolts found homes, and Chevrolet may sell 70,000 by the decade’s end.
Those are impressive results for such a small vehicle. Still, GM has considerably higher expectations for its broad new portfolio of electric cars built on the Ultium platform, including the Silverado EV and Sierra EV from GMC. Barra said the carmaker would have a corporate capacity to produce 600,000 electric cars annually when Orion reopens in the first quarter of 2019. For those who can buy such vehicles, the switch from making cheap Bolts to expensive Silverados highlights certain unfavorable tendencies for others who can’t.
Since 2018, automakers have rapidly switched from tiny, inexpensive, low-profit cars to more extensive, expensive, and higher-profit ones (gas-powered and electric). Data from Edmunds.com shows that although automobiles under $25,000 made up 24% of the market in March of that year, they only accounted for 4%.
While the Bolt EV is one of the most incredible little vehicles (despite Chevy’s insistence that it is a crossover), this transformation is most apparent among the quickly shrinking ranks of inexpensive EVs. With the Bolts included, just five models sell for under $40,000 in 2023, and none are eligible for tax benefits. The loss of the Bolt will create a significant gap in the market, and it confirms customers’ worries that cost will continue to be a key obstacle to EV adoption.
The Renaissance of The Bolt
Although it has always been a terrific driver, the Bolt’s late-life resurgence primarily results from its recently low price. It was notable for reintroducing GM to the electric vehicle market after the EV1 fiasco and went on sale in late 2016. Back then, compared to vehicles like the Kia Soul EV, Nissan Leaf, and Volkswagen e-Golf, the Bolt EV’s initial 238-mile range and 60 kWh LG battery pack were astounding.
However, electricity of all types was still expensive and reliant on tax breaks, and the infrastructure for public fast charging was considerably poorer than it is now. It had a $37,495 MSRP at launch. That was more than double the cost of a comparable-sized (gas-powered) Honda Fit at the time, and GM had trouble selling more than 20,000 cars a year until being struck a severe blow in 2021.
Several high-profile battery fires quickly followed Chevrolet’s upgrade to the Bolt with a more significant 66 kWh battery pack and the addition of the larger EUV variant, resulting in a stop-sale order and an effective recall. But it was this catastrophe that gave rise to the resurgence.
Chevrolet and LG, the manufacturers of the defective battery packs, remedied the production issues and installed replacement packs in older vehicles at significant expense. After the government tax credits ran out, GM decided to permanently put the situation in the rearview mirror by cutting costs. It reduced the MSRP of the Bolt EV and the EUV by $6,300 in June last year.
Although prices increased somewhat in January this year, the Bolts were now in new pricing ranges for electric vehicles, rivaling gas-powered compact crossovers like the Hyundai Kona and Toyota Corolla Cross. The Bolt still performs well by EV standards despite having constraints due to its older construction, like a 50 kW maximum fast charging rate. Compared to those gas counterparts, it’s also a nice car to drive and has a lot of room.
The price reductions attracted some purchasers who would not have picked an EV if the entrance barrier had been higher, but those customers will still be buying EVs next year.
Price Matters
The Mini Cooper SE ($31,895 for 2024) and Nissan Leaf ($29,145) will be the least-priced EVs available after the Bolts have been phased out. These vehicles have substantially lower driving ranges (114 and 149 miles, respectively; more premium Leaf models offer longer ranges). In 2023, there will only be two more EVs available for under $40,000: the Hyundai Kona Electric and the Mazda MX-30. The updated 2024 Kona Electric will be more extensive and expensive, while the miserly Mazda, with its 100-mile range, is only offered in a few locations in California.
But Chevrolet won’t be out of the running. Even though it’s a fundamentally different car, the Equinox EV, built on the Ultium platform, will take the Bolt EUV’s spot in the lineup. If early specs are to be trusted, it will be 500 pounds heavier and 21 inches longer than the Bolt EUV, with a basic model range of 250 miles. Just three more miles than the EUV, the Equinox will be capable of a 150 kW rapid charge.
However, the price will go up. The basic variant of the Chevrolet Equinox EV won’t be available until the middle of 2024, despite the company’s claim that it would cost under $30,000. The Equinox EV RS2, which will be the first one, will cost more than $40,000.
According to Cox Automotive, the average price of a new automobile transaction is now over $48,000, up from around $35,000 in 2018. As a result, many people start feeling wholly priced out of purchasing new cars, but this is especially true for EVs. In the Global Automotive Consumer Study conducted by consulting company Deloitte and released in January, 52% of U.S. respondents mentioned price as being more of a problem than range concerns (48%) or charging times (47%).
There aren’t any other inexpensive U.S.-market EVs on the horizon after the Bolt is gone, even though GM may be able to lower the prices of its Ultium models and produce cheaper, more minor variants thanks to the economies of scale that come with having 600,000 EVs annually. This might potentially open the door for several of China’s burgeoning EV manufacturers, such as BYD, Geely, or Great Wall Motors, although they would be, at best, some years away.
Meanwhile, if you want to purchase an inexpensive, brand-new EV, the Bolt is a great option.
