Chevrolet Marketing Strategy for Bolt: It’s Special, But Not Weird
For a while, analysts and reports have sought to find the answer to a big question about electric vehicles: just why aren’t people buying them?
Among things like current vehicle range and charger availability, one of the problems is the way the cars are presented. Often, electric vehicles come with bold, instantly-recognizable styling—just consider how striking the appearance of the BMW i3 or i8 is on the road. In addition, electric vehicles are often seen as more complicated and, to a certain extent, owned by overly-sanctimonious environmentalists.
Well, Chevrolet is seeking to correct that problem with the incoming Bolt, presenting the EV not as some quirky, enviro-mobile, but as a normal, albeit special, car.
“If you’re going to go to the masses, it can’t be this quirky thing,” the Bolt’s chief engineer, Mike Lelli, said. “There are lots of people who like the car not because it’s zero-emissions but because of the way it drives.”
So, in order to bring the Bolt into the mainstream, Chevrolet has chosen to make the Bolt different, but not weird. The interior is similar to other Chevy vehicles’ interiors, although equipped with a huge touchscreen. And, although the Bolt uses a battery like its older sibling the Volt, the Bolt’s battery pack isn’t a T-shaped block under the rear seats and interrupting the rear middle seat—the Bolt’s power comes from a flat pack under the floor, giving it more interior space than its exterior implies is possible.
All in all, I think it’s a better strategy to try to set the Bolt apart by showing how it is a normal car, but better, rather than showing how crazy and different it is–after all, not everybody wants to be different.
News Source: Automotive News
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