Chevrolet Quells Rumors, Confirms Bolt Will Still Come to Dealerships This Year
Chevrolet has confirmed that its new all-electric hatchback is on track for a late-2016 launch, counter to rumors flying that the Bolt would be delayed by as much as 6 months. Fred Ligouri, Chevrolet spokesman, told Automotive News, “We’re on the same timeline we’ve always communicated. […] Retail production of the 2017 Bolt EV begins later this year, and it will be in dealer showrooms shortly thereafter.”
In addition, engineers from GM have been seen recently testing early build models of the Bolt around Detroit for some time, but over the weekend one particular blue model appeared near a Cars and Coffee event just north of Detroit, driven by an engineer who described the car as “production intent,” meaning it had been built with all the final and proper parts, finishes, and colors.
This is good news for electric car buyers and a good thing for Chevrolet, whose car release in 2016 is a very strong leg up on its nearest rival the Tesla Model 3, which isn’t due to be released for at least a year after the Bolt.
Hopefully, sales of the Bolt, which is the first electric vehicle to be offered at a mass-market price and nationwide, not to mention the first mass-market-priced EV to deliver 200 miles of range, will help drive further EV sales across the country (not just primarily in California). If estimates are correct, the Bolt could sell all the way up to 80,000 units in the first year, a number which would dwarf the sales of volume-priced EVs for the entirety of last year.
Either way, the Bolt’s coming will surely change the way people see electric vehicles.
News Source: Automotive News (subscription required)
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