It’s almost as if the Chevrolet Bolt never left. After the disappointing news that GM was discontinuing the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV by the end of the year, the American automaker has walked back its decision. During a second-quarter earnings call, Mary Barra, chair and CEO at GM, confirmed that Chevy is planning on making a next-gen Bolt.
Considering the popularity of the Bolt, it was a surprise that GM wanted to discontinue it in the first place. GM didn’t specify when it would bring the Bolt back, though.
The Bolt will be updated with GM’s Ultium platform.
BRINGING THE BOLT BACK
The Bolt has been one of Chevy’s best-selling electric options for a while. According to Chevy, the sales of the Bolt EV and the Bolt EUV in the first half of 2023 have been the strongest so far. Unlike most of GM’s recent EVs like the Cadillac Lyriq or the GMC Hummer, the Bolt was developed before the Ultium platform. To update the affordable EV, Chevy will build the next-gen Bolt on Ultium.
Barra didn’t reveal much info on the next-gen Bolt, only noting that GM would develop it “more quickly” than making an all-new EV. She also said that there will be “significantly lower engineering expense and capital investment” when it came to the next-gen Bolt. We’re hoping that translates to GM keeping the Bolt EV as one of the most affordable options when it comes to EVs in the U.S. For reference, the most recent 2023 model of the Bolt EV starts at $26,500 and the 2023 Bolt EUV starts at $27,800.
The next-gen Bolt EV’s affordability will be a major factor in its potential success.
BACK ON THE MENU
It’s anyone’s guess as to what “more quickly” means in terms of a release date, but the process of updating the Bolt with the Ultium platform sounds less intense than developing an EV from scratch.
If it weren’t for the Bolt’s revival, we’d be left with Chevy’s Blazer EV as the closest alternative. Still, at a starting price of $44,995, the Blazer EV wouldn’t have come close to the affordability of the Bolt EV. Besides the new Bolt and the Blazer EV, Chevy is also busy working on a number of different EVs, including the Silverado EV and the Equinox EV.
