The Chevy Bolt EV will pull a Terminator - it will be back

The Bolt is never coming back.
If GM slapped a Bolt nameplate on a Blazer, is it a Bolt? No.
Mary Barra said maybe because she didn’t want to say no. The answer is no. The Bolt has no name equity beyond its small base. Most people don’t know about it.

It’s never coming back.

 

Absolutely! I can't get over how efficient this car is and plenty of fun to drive! I live in the Ozarks very close to the Boston Mountain range and our roads are very twisty and turny. Lots of up and down too. Often you find your onboard compass pointing in the opposite direction of your desired destination and this little red ev hugs the road while providing a comfortable ride.
Top speed in our area never exceeds 60mph, but that is only for a few miles between towns on an "open stretch". Otherwise 30-45mph is probably the average speed of traffic.
Recently I was speaking with the Chevy dealership service manager where I had the seat belt recall done at (who knew zilch about EVs) and he was very surprised to hear (and see the evidence) that these Bolts are so darned economical to drive in this area. He had no idea how cheap they are to drive. He thought conditions here would result in less economy rather than more. That dealership hasn't sold a single EV to my knowledge. When I got my 2020 Bolt1LT I had to go 70 miles to get it in the next state to the north. When I got my 2022 Bolt 2LT I had to drive 130 miles south. I don't expect the dealers within 70 miles of me to get onboard with EVs anytime soon. Right now it looks like our local Ford and GM dealers are gradually turning into used car lots, with very few new models of i.c.e. vehicles and no EVs. That GM dealership I went to for the seat belt recall gave up their Cadillac dealership because it didn't want to make the investment. I believe that to be very short sighted.

 

I think you're right that there won't be another small, utilitarian Bolt, but I believe the name has value--is there a more electrical-sounding name for an EV? OK, maybe "Volt" is better.

Remember the fake Jolt EV sportscar ads that surfaced a few years ago?


I think this is what the next Bolt should be. Now that "Bolt" name is available, it is better than "Jolt" for an EV sports car. It would be sad if my MINI Cooper SE turns out to be the only small, sporty EV ever.

 

I definitely signed that petition back in the day. I would have been first in line to buy a Jolt if it was real. Thankfully Mini saw fit to make the SE.

Regarding the Bolt, small utilitarian cars are on their way out for large, bloated, expensive cars with less utility. I just hope this trend eventually reverses but I see no signs of that happening soon.


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We purchased a low mileage used 2014 Volt as our introduction to EVs, back in 2017 and were looking forward to replacing it with a new Volt in 2020 with a refresh, but it was discontinued instead. It was a great little car. That's what got us to move on to the Bolt 1LT lease in 2020. We liked the car but hated the seats. During the traction battery debacle we were able to trade up to a 2022 Bolt 2LT (better seats) and actually saved a few $$$ in the process. We aren't monied up people, who really can't afford anything in a higher price range. To move up to a more popular line, we would have to buy something used. I actually chose these vehicles because of the economy of operation and the cost of entry they offer. Without that, I might as well buy a Toyota Corolla.You can get their best for around $26k.
We've got til April of '25 before we have to make a decision on either purchasing the residual on our lease or replacing it with something else. We're already leaning toward keeping the Bolt. By then hopefully the selection of used EVs will be better, closer to home.

 

It would be nice if Chevy dealers were at least a little responsive to Bolt EUV issues, like my "Service Driver Assistance" error message and iffy Super Cruise. I contacted my nearest 3 dealers and none have responded, except that all of them forwarded my contact info to the new car sales department. They'll sell 'em, but they don't care to fix 'em.

 

I had been avoiding taking mine in to get the recall done for the seat belt because of the poor service offered at my local dealers, until I happened to be speaking with the GM concierge rep and she offered to act as an intermediary and deal direct with the service manager. When the dealer did call me to set up the appointment, they actually were very friendly and helpful. That convinced me that going forward my first contact would be the concierge.

 

Officially official.

https://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2023/jul/0725-chevrolet.html

Today, GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra announced during the company’s quarterly earnings conference call that Chevrolet will introduce a next-generation Bolt, continuing to deliver what customers have come to expect: great affordability, range1 and technology.

“Our customers love today’s Bolt. It has been delivering record sales and some of the highest customer satisfaction and loyalty scores in the industry,” said Barra. “It’s also an important source of conquest sales for the company and for Chevrolet.”

“We will keep the momentum going by delivering a new Bolt…and we will execute it more quickly compared to an all-new program with significantly lower engineering expense and capital investment by updating the vehicle with Ultium and Ultifi technologies and by applying our ‘winning with simplicity’ discipline.”

Drawing on various Ultium and Ultifi technological advancements will help GM bring this popular model back to market on an accelerated timeline. Timing and specific details about the next-generation Bolt will be announced at a later date. The Bolt is expected to join Chevrolet’s growing lineup of all-electric vehicles, three of which are launching this year — Silverado EV, Blazer EV and Equinox EV.

From its market introduction in 2017, the Chevrolet Bolt changed the game as the first long-range, mass-produced EV available to customers at a truly affordable price. Sales of Bolt EV and Bolt EUV through the first half of 2023 have been the strongest to date. Eighty percent of Bolt owners are staying loyal to Chevy and nearly 70 percent of buyers who are trading in a vehicle for Bolt are trading in a non-GM product.

 

Just got an announcement from Chevy. They are definitely bringing back the Bolt. No other info yet but I bet it will be on the Ultium platform.

 

yep mist got that an announcement but yours has more info. Good news

 

If they are going to use the same Bolt platform and stuff a new battery in it then they may need to make a custom battery enclosure for the Ultium cells, because I don't think the current Bolt is wide enough for the current packs.

As for Packs, here is the current Ultium Pack configurations (Minus the pack for the Celestiq)

 

Unknown at this point but retooling for a new body will be expensive and it sounds like they are going to try to utilize the current body to keep cost down and bring tge vehicle to market sooner. Time will tell. Love our 22 Ev but will certainly put a new Bolt on the list when 2025 rolls around

 

GM is repurposing the Lake Orion factory to make electric pickup trucks, so it would seem doubtful they're going to outfit another factory to make the old Bolts modified to accommodate some form of the Ultium battery.

I'll be surprised if the new Bolt is as small as the Bolt EUV. America votes with their dollars for big crossovers. Perhaps the new Bolt will be a de-contented version of the upcoming Blazer EV.

 

No, Blazer is far to large, larger than the Equinox EV. GM to save money on it's development and fast track already said they would be using the Bolts current architecture.

 

Perhaps GM has warehoused all the Lake Orion factory equipment used to build the Bolt and will set it up in a different factory--after adapting the old architecture to accommodate the Ultium architecture, that is.

As much as I favor small cars (I drive a MINI EV), it's obvious that Americans prefer crossovers over smaller vehicles if the prices are anywhere close, so maybe a de-contented Equinox EV might be easier to sell than the old Bolt with an upgraded battery.

One reason to abandon the original Bolt because the designers put the turn signals/emergency flashers in the bumper rather than compromise the placement of the taillights they drew up. Turn signals should be higher up, where they're easily visible to drivers and bicyclists not directly behind the signalling car. Just my pet peeve.