Report: GM Will Build Chevrolet Bolt EV Concept
Car shoppers may see an affordable electric car with the longest range yet in the new Chevrolet Bolt, which GM reportedly plans to build near Detroit starting late next year. So says Reuters, citing two unnamed supplier sources that say GM has green-lit the concept car — which it merely hailed as an example of its “commitment to electrification” during January’s 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Related: How Would Chevy’s Bolt EV Stack Up Against the Nissan Leaf?
The Bolt would go into production in October 2016, Reuters reports, and GM aims to build only about 25,000 to 30,000 cars per year. That’s significantly more than the 20,860 Volt range-extended EVs that the automaker built in 2014, according to Automotive News. If the Bolt delivers on its promise, there should be enough interest to justify the production. At the Detroit Auto Show, GM said it designed the concept to have an all-electric range of more than 200 miles — well beyond any affordable EV today — and start around $30,000 after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
That’s a value proposition that could break through the current EV malaise, as low fuel prices have turned car shoppers away from hybrids and plug-ins. Amid double-digit gains for all new cars, sales of the Ford C-Max, Toyota Prius, Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt fell 4.9 percent in January.
GM wouldn’t confirm the story.
“Bolt EV concept is still a concept,” GM spokeswoman Annalisa Bluhm told us. “At this time we have not announced any production details.”
Still, Reuters expects the car to go on sale in early 2017. It will reportedly share a platform with the next-generation Chevrolet Sonic, due around the same time. Stay tuned, and we’ll keep you posted on when — and if — a production Bolt materializes.
