You heard it here yesterday. General Motors will introduce not one, not two, but three new vehicles based on the increasingly popular Chevrolet Bolt electric hatchback. And it’ll do it over the next two years.
Is this a case of too much Bolt, too soon, or is GM within its rights to go whole hog on its green halo model, given the need to get out in front of looming competitors? One of the Bolt-based EVs will be a car, the other two, crossovers. Let’s focus on the latter models right now.
What must a Bolt-derived electric crossover bring to the table to get American buyers interested?
I place an emphasis on American buyers, as it is not confirmed that all three vehicles will launch in the U.S. market. That doesn’t seem like GM’s style, especially considering how many sales such a vehicle could gobble up in China. GM already sells a Buick-badged Chevrolet Volt and Bolt over there, and a small crossover could prove to be catnip to Chinese buyers.
It also might prove alluring to enough to American buyers to make it worthwhile here. There’s no way GM will let Ford’s future electric crossover go unchallenged, and it certainly won’t let its traditional rival introduce one first.
There’s also little doubt that at least one of these vehicles will arrive with a Buick badge. GM reportedly tested a Buick-badged, Bolt-based crossover with a focus group back in July, and Buick sales chief Duncan Aldred has said the brand will play a “huge part” in the company’s green wave.
Sharing the same underpinnings, the two crossovers will surely court two different classes of buyers.
But back to nuts and bolts, as it were. What does this pair of vehicles need to offer in order to lure American buyers? Is a bigger battery required, considering the Bolt’s healthy 238-mile range will surely be hampered by extra weight and drag? Or is, say, 200 miles of range still enough? All-wheel drive, at least in one of the models (or on higher trims), is a must in my mind. You don’t field a crossover in the U.S. without offering four-wheel traction, unless your name’s Kia. GM needs to show that electric power can tackle the harsh climes of Vermont, Montana, and Wisconsin.
For this, a dual-motor setup is unavoidable.
And what about price? For either model, undercutting the moneybags Tesla Model X is no challenge, but what price point must one of these crossovers start at to make for a palatable proposal? Just imagine you’re pulling the levers at GM, not Mary Barra. These vehicles are a go, and it’s your job to make them a success.
Weigh in in the comment section below.
[Images: General Motors]
Put the power train in a bigger body, so back seat passengers have a better experience. My dream would be to put the Volt package in the new Buick Regal TourX. Battery size could be a bit bigger or stay the same. Most of the people in my family are over 6 feet tall so our Volt has more of a 2+2 feel than we would prefer. It gets used primarily for my wife’s commute.
I haven’t had a chance to sit in a Bolt yet. If it is cramped, Buick could put the package in the next size up, to create something in the CMax size class.
Avoid building them.
Well I guess they could begin by badging it Buick eElectra? Perhaps grab the movie title copyright fron “Electra Glide in Blue…1973.” For advertising purposes.
…and now we will have two new GM-bashing threads in less than 24 hours. The headline of the article even assumes it. Way to go, TTAC.
I have to agree. I don’t see how building increasingly popular crossovers from an increasingly popular EV platform will be a “flop” as long as it can be done profitably.
Oh, wait…
You must be new here…
How about making it look like an SUV. I realize that they have a compact CUV already and should just throw the powertrain in it instead. THey needs something about he size of an Edge/Murano type deal. Or make something along the lines of the S-Max.
If GM is so determined to lose their A$$ on electric cars, just juice up the Silverado. It’s about the only thing that makes sense besides an EV Colorado they may actually break even, or make some damn money on. Or even export.
I drove a Bolt recently, and liked it. My only suggestion is the larger interior should also be a bit more lux. I got the impression that all the money was spent on the battery, which is OK, but for a family truckster, bling it up a bit.
Make it CR-V size with a nominal range of 100 miles to keep the cost down.
Offer a range-extending engine+generator that attaches to the trailer hitch for long trips. Why not a small gas turbine?
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AWD setup increases range in a electric car
Hadn’t heard that before. Why? Because you can regenerate from all four wheels?
With a rear electric motor, there are no drivetrain losses and extremely little weight is added. And the energy needed to raise or accelerate the extra weight is recaptured. I guess it can make sense.
https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/why-does-dual-motor-get-better-mileage
looks like regen is one benefit, as is having 2 smaller motors instead of 1 larger one, as well as having them geared differently
It’s mostly just because EVs produce so much instantaneous torque that it can be difficult to implement a transmission with multiple gears because the motors put so much strain on the transmissions. So most manufacturers just optimize the motors to work over a relatively broad range of speeds-but most motors are more efficient in a particular range.
So basically by having two different motors you can gear those two motors differently so that they’re optimized in terms of efficiency for different speeds. For example you can make the motor that drives the front wheels optimized for best efficiency at 60-80mph, and keep the rear motor better optimized for accelerating from a dead stop and getting around at city speeds.
Then when you’re driving on the highway and just cruising the car basically only sends power to the front motor that’s optimized for those speeds, improving the efficiency even though the car has to carry around a 2nd motor.
If you could come up with a reliable transmission for EV motors you would no longer see this efficiency difference. But it’s unlikely that you can easily build a reliable transmission that can handle huge amounts of torque without significantly increasing the weight of the vehicle anyway, so this is a reasonably good solution.
EVs are actually pretty fascinating, most gas cars pay an energy penalty for AWD but due to the lack of transmissions in EVs AWD EVs get an efficiency bonus right now.
I always thought that the Bolt and Volt should have been sold here as Buicks, anyway. The Chevrolet brand has enough enthusiasts, but heralding the “green” flag for GM really could have helped justify the Buick brand’s existence, not to mention targeted the well-to-do, educated people that often buy them.
So, as for your question, just badge it as a Buick and make sure it looks way less dorky than the Encore. Maybe make it a bit roomier as well.
Not much, if GM’s unit expectations are sufficiently tempered. I’d expect an electric crossover to outsell today’s Bolt, given the market’s demonstrated preference for trucklets.
QOTD: How Can a Chevrolet Bolt-based Crossover Avoid Flopping?
Oh FFS!!!!….is this a real headline or a click bait one?
It will be a crossover!….they will sell as many as they can make unless they do the following…
a) Screw up the styling
b) Price it a la ELR
I’ll give the only legitimate answer. In order to prevent it from flopping…
Keep the EV credit in place, because it’s a legitimate use of tax dollars.
Can there be a legitimate use of money that’s stolen from people? I’d call it a palatable use of tax dollars at best…
Please lay off the Fox News. I’m sure there are other uses of your ‘stolen’ tax dollars you agree with, like national defense.
No, a legitimate use of tax dollars would be on infrastructure that all can use. This is a reward for particular people buying a particular product.
This is the opposite of legit use of tax dollars.
More battery is always a requirement – in this case, maybe 75 kWH.
Even if GM can build batteries at the same cost as Tesla, that means the thing will start in the $40k range. It shouldn’t be allowed to top $50k in FWD trim.
I’m not sure AWD is a requirement for the base model (I wouldn’t want it). AWD always adds a lot of cost.
One way to win: beat the Model Y to market (shouldn’t be hard to do).
How can it avoid flopping? Easy. Put a Toyota/Honda bagde on it.
Combined, Toyota and Honda have virtually no EV experience, and Honda’s an expert at ruining hybrids.
I take your point, but I’ll counter with this: Put a Tesla badge on it.
Structural rigidity?
Nice photoshopping, GM. Flourishing cotton grows at the seaside.
(Coast Guard: “Get that car off the cotton-pickin’ beach!”)
Maybe that’s snow on the beach in Maine.
Well now we know how GM will introduce so many models.
A US(Chevy) and China(Buick) version and if successful a tarted up Cadillac.