The Chevy Bolt is officially coming back from the dead.
Back in April, Chevrolet announced that it would be ending production of the Bolt EV and EUV at the end of 2023. The company said that it would be focusing on its electric truck lineup and, instead of continuing to manufacture the Bolt on its old EV platform, focus investment on its new Ultium platform. GM CEO Mary Barra revealed the end of production of the affordable EV on the company’s Q1 2023 earnings call.
“When the Chevrolet Bolt EV launched, it was a huge technical achievement and the first affordable EV, which set in motion GM’s all-electric future. As the company continues to grow it’s EV portfolio with the Ultium platform, and as construction continues at the Orion Township, MI, assembly plant in preparation for battery electric truck production beginning in 2024, Chevrolet confirmed Bolt EV and EUV production will end late this year.”
A lot of people were disappointed to hear about the end of the Bolt. The small car and SUV, while not necessarily as cool as a Tesla Model 3, happened to beat Tesla in pricing as the most affordable electric vehicle you could buy in the United States. The death of it meant that anyone who wanted to get into an EV would be paying a higher entry price.
The Bolt is back
Thankfully, the death of the Bolt seems to be short-lived. In a press release, Chevrolet officially announced that it will be bringing the Bolt EV back.
GM CEO Mary Barra revealed the return of the vehicle on the company’s Q2 2023 earnings call, saying that “our customers love today’s Bolt. It has been delivering record sales and some of the highest customer satisfaction and loyalty scores in the industry. It’s also an important source of conquest sales for the company and for Chevrolet.”
“We will keep the momentum going by delivering a new Bolt…and we will execute it more quickly compared to an all-new program with significantly lower engineering expense and capital investment by updating the vehicle with Ultium and Ultifi technologies and by applying our ‘winning with simplicity’ discipline.”
The company says that the next generation Bolt will, like the rest of its upcoming EVs, be built on its new Ultium platform — explaining the reason that the original version of the Bolt EV and EUV was discontinued. Chevy won’t say exactly when the next-generation Bolt EV will be released but did say that it will join the other vehicles being built on the Ultium platform, like the upcoming Silverado EV, Blazer EV, and Equinox EV.
Chevy is going to have some competition
Chevrolet might have the goal of bringing the Bolt EV back to reclaim its title of having the most affordable electric vehicle on the market, but it will soon have some tough competition from Tesla in the segment.
Tesla has already teased its next-generation EV as well during its Master Plan Part 3 event earlier this year. While the company did not provide much detail about the vehicle, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said clearly that it intends to make a car that’s even more affordable than the Model 3 and finally crosses below the $30,000 starting price point.
It’s fantastic to see multiple companies working to bring next-generation electric vehicles to the market that are at a more affordable price point. Musk is right — the transition to renewable energy requires such vehicles to exist — so it’s great to see companies like Tesla and Chevrolet leading the charge.
