Photo: Jeffrey Sauger for Chevrolet
Just a few months after announcing that the Chevrolet Bolt EV would be discontinued at the end of 2023, General Motors has reversed that decision. The automaker now says it will produce a next-generation Bolt EV with updated tech and performance.
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The current Bolt is one of the auto industry’s most affordable all-electric vehicles, serving as an attractive entry point for first-time EV owners. The model’s initial cancellation surprised many customers and commentators — especially since it’s a proven performer and its intended replacement, the Equinox EV, won’t go on sale until later this year.
GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra acknowledged the Bolt’s established appeal as she heralded its return. “Our customers love today’s Bolt,” she said. “It has been delivering record sales and some of the highest customer satisfaction and loyalty scores in the industry. It’s also an important source of conquest sales for the company and for Chevrolet.”
One of the sticking points for production of the current-generation Bolt is its outdated technologies. Because it’s been on the market since 2017 without major platform updates, the Bolt is out of sync with upcoming Chevrolet models like the Equinox EV, Blazer EV, and Silverado EV, which run on new Ultium battery platforms and Ultifi software.
The current-generation Chevrolet Bolt EV
Photo: Chevrolet
However, Barra noted that the next-gen Bolt will integrate Ultium and Ultifi. This should make it much more efficient to produce while supplying customers with GM’s latest advancements in EV technology.
GM hasn’t yet indicated when the new Bolt EV will be released, but the automaker did promise that it would delivered on “an accelerated timeline.”
In the meantime, the 2023 Bolt remain on sale at dealerships around the United States. The Bolt EV delivers up to 259 miles of driving range, and you can read about it here. The Bolt EUV is close on its heels with 247 miles of range and an array of other features covered in The News Wheel’s model overview.
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.
