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Chevrolet’s Bolt EV will go into production in 2016, along with an Opel variant.
Reuters reports that the Bolt will be produced at GM’s Orion Township plant in Michigan. Volume is expected to be in the 25,000-30,000 unit range.
While TTAC sources initially expected the Bolt to take the form of a Sonic EV, the Bolt will indeed share the Gamma platform used by the Sonic. But the Bolt will be its own nameplate, similar to the Volt’s relationship to the Chevrolet Cruze.
36 Comments on “Chevrolet Bolt Going Into Production In 2016...”
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If GM priced this near 30k before fed/state rebates, incentives, etc., and it gets even close to 200 mile range in REAL WORLD ARCTIC OR SAHARA TEMPS WHILE DRIVEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS and every condition in between, while being reasonably roomy, comfortable and reliable –
– Massive sales, as in waiting list –
– but this is GM, so just assume none of the above.
Who drives electric cars in the arctic? Is their even a charging station above the Arctic Circle.
@Mr Orange,
The Arctic would be a great place for an EV. The range would be terrible but, as someone who once spent a few days in Fairbanks AK, there are several thing going for them up there:
0) EVs usually charge at the owner’s home, and mostly function as a commuting appliance. For other tasks (towing, road tripping, etc), most people use something else. Still, if all of us cubicle slaves would do the daily grind in EVs, a great deal of oil and pollution would be saved.
1) High amperage 110V outlets are common in parking lots. They’re intended for engine block heaters, but they should be able to top off an EV just fine. In other words, many arctic towns already have better EV infrastructure than the college town where I live.
2) Towns are small and isolated. Either you’re going on a long road trip, or you’re not. It’s not like Atlanta where any day might turn in to a road trip without leaving the city limits. If you’re just doing errands around a town that’s 5 miles on a side, losing half your range 200 mile range to the cold is no biggie.
3) Gasoline & diesel are expensive. “But that’s where oil comes from”, say many people. But most oil gets shipped out of Alaska for refining, and then shipped back to isolated towns to be sold. It’s expensive. Also, Alaska is obuit the size of what people call “the west” in the lower 48, so shipping oir within Alaska is its own challenge.
Another place where EVs are likely to be underrated: Islands with good electric power. Cars don’t float, and gas is expensive so you’ll never take your EV on a road trip accidentally – and you’ll likely save a lot of gas money.
So, yeah, even though cold weather can do a number on a car’s range, dismissing EVs isn’t necessarily a good idea. The counter argument to everything I just said is poverty. There is plenty of that in the little bit of the arctic that I’ve experienced, too.
I find it hard to get too excited about the “bolt”. Is it me or does it seem like the Bolt needs its own theme song?
Designed by Holden in Melbourne, but not Australians would go out of their way to buy it though
Hopefully it gets a new name along the way.
Corvolt
I agree. Bolt would be a perfectly fine name…but for the fact that they already have the Volt. It’s bad enough when people can’t differentiate between nameplates that use model numbers; there’s no reason to insert artificial confusion into your product lineup by having two products whose names rhyme and sound extremely similar.
Just keep packing peanuts away from it :)
Zestla (with the Z resembling a lightning bolt).
Female Viagra?
http://www.exploreconsulting.com/images/zestra.jpg
Yeah, like “Bucket of Bolt”
They should reach back in the dead name list, but “V” reminds us it’s electric:
Vumina
Vobalt
Vimmy
Vorsa
Vorsica
Vetro
Vracker
Can they just call it the “Cabbage” for shits ‘n gigs?
Since Chevy is into rhyming, how about Colt… oh, wait.
Dolt… no, Red Ink Rick is not here anymore.
Instead, why not pull a Prius and call it the Volt C, creating a sub-brand everyone can immediately recognize.
Bolt… sounds like a horse escaping the glue factory.
I really want EV to succeed, but in order to do that, we must have an infrastructure that can support them. If the high-amp charging stations and charging sockets were located at every mall, every rest stop, every office parking lot and every movie theater it would help EV catch on.
Perhaps, these places would have attendants whose job it is to simply switch the cars that are done charging with cars that need a charge.
Some sort of “scanner” would be used to scan cars that are low on charge by the valet.
We could do it if we really tried.
I’d love for everyone to have an affordable EV.
I never need a charge when im at a mall or grocery store. Rest areas and tourist destinations would be better. Even better, allow any gas station with a level 3 charger to keep 1 cent per gallon of the gas tax on every gallon they pump.
“We could do it if we really tried.
I’d love for everyone to have an affordable EV.”
Me too man. Quick chargers or a feasible battery swap option, like maybe a dedicated portion of everyone’s trunk that can hold several batteries the size of 2 litter bottles? It’s a bummer that there’s no way we could ever gather enough solar power from a car’s roof to power the car. That’d be amazing.
“It’s a bummer that there’s no way we could ever gather enough solar power from a car’s roof to power the car. That’d be amazing.”
But there’s no reason we can’t turn every parking lot into covered parking with solar panels that not only produce electricity, but also provide shade & cover for rain/snow.
The next gen batteries will come first, then the charger station numbers will explode upwards. We’re only a few years from LiS and dual carbon cathode batteries, which is what will make these electrics truely viable gasoline replacements. See ryden battery or the MIT developed LiS formulations which double energy density, both are on a path to market. Viable Charge stations need to be between 150 and 200 kW, the current batteries can’t quite take that.
The success of all EVs depends on both increasing the range and decreasing the size, weight and cost of the battery pack. So far, this has been a slow process. I see availability of charging stations to be secondary to this.
With a 200 mile range, the Bolt looks like a winner depending on pricing. $27K before incentives would be my target price.
What are the odds the ev subsidy (per Obama’s proposed budget) goes to 10 grand and changes from a tax credit to an instant rebate? That would probably be a big plus factor.
Since my 12 Leaf’s rebate was an instant credit, that was the final affirmation I needed to get it (lease).
I would prefer that the Bolt share the same powertrain as the hybrid Volt. The Volt has enough electric range for me, but it doesn’t have enough people and cargo space. I would trade looks for more room. The supplemental gas engine would be useful on long trips.
That’s the concern I have about the volt too, I feel like they went backwards on the second gen. Perhaps gm will released a voltec model bolt.
@ nickoo – The 2nd Gen Voltec minus the big battery can easily be turned into and used in a gas-hybrid vehicle versus the electric hybrid in the Volt. So don’t be too surprised to see GM put it into a CUV vehicle(and who knows what else) to compete with Fords C-MAX hybrid. My understanding is it would function a lot like what is currently in the Accord hybrid.
With the EPA trying to shut down coal burning powerplants, and few,if any new nuclear plants coming on line, electricity will become much more expensive and perhaps, unavailable. This might doom the electric car.
Don’t forget the frackers are cranking out nat gas like crazy. I’m not nearly as pessimistic on the future of electricity production. Although they’re also finding oil like crazy and 2 buck gasoline isn’t an incentive to purchase an ev.
This; while the big coal and nuke plant construction may be tapering off; there are tons of smaller combined cycle plants being built. They are way more efficient than conventional fossil and nuclear plants, can handle load swings well, and are low in emissions.
Add the significant amount of wind power coming online in the SW United States, and we will have enough generation capacity to keep up. A bigger concern is our aging distribution network; though that is being slowly upgraded as well.
Highly unlikely. Electricity prices track natural gas, not coal.
This is a much better form factor than the newly refreshed volt. I would buy one of these if it lives up to the hype and gm does the same output of the spark ev setup with around 400 ft-lb of torque. Let’s hope they can also license and use the silicone carbide Inverter that Toyota is currently testing too!
I look forward to cross shopping the “Bolt” with the 2nd generation Leaf after my wife finishes her graduate degree.
If I’m very lucky, I’ll be able to cross shop both with the Tesla Model 3.
Until then, I’ll keep flogging the Prius as a DD appliance. After almost 11 years on the road, that thing is has reached cockroach status — I can afford to wait.
According to AB-Green, GM is now denying having any production plans for this vehicle, which remains strictly a ‘concept’.
Translation: “People have gone nuts about this concept, its proposed capabilities, and price. But now we’re not so sure we can deliver on all that.”
So I’ll stop holding my breath.
IF this actually gets 200 miles range in the standard test.
IF the starting price is $30K before ‘guberment rebates.
IF they really do plan to build 25K to 30K a year instead of having it be a compliance car (which means dealers will slap ridiculous ADM on them)
IF although a Gamma based car the interior is stepped up (and yes I’m willing to pony up some more money for leather, nav, etc.)
IF the interior form factor is as useful and roomy as the Sonic.
This could be the first car I would lease, and a big enough stick of dynamite to get me to go new again. This car would meet my day-to-day driving needs – PERFECTLY – and where I drive my primary vehicle 11K to 12K miles a year, a lease would fit my driving style. Start to go over miles? Pull the G8 GT out of the garage – yup – that would be hardship. ;-)
Woo! It’s being built 2 miles away from me! I could get down on a $199 a month lease for 10k-12k miles a year…
NUTZ…