If you’ve been thinking of buying a Chevrolet Bolt, you might want to hurry up. An email sent out to Bolt customers obtained by The Autopian, and confirmed by a GM spokesperson, confirms that Chevrolet’s entry-level electric car will be discontinued after 2023.
Here’s the email:
The Bolt is one of those rare cars that hit its stride later in life. Despite a massive battery recall, price cuts and incentives ensured that this was pretty much the only affordable long-range EV with a common CCS DC fast charging connector socket. Granted, it’s only rated for 50 kW fast charging, but that’s better than nothing. Indeed, sales have taken off like wildfire, with this six-year-old Chevrolet being the best-selling non-Tesla EV in the third and fourth quarters of 2022.
This email was later confirmed by a GM spokesperson who said:
“When the Chevrolet Bolt EV launched, it was a huge technical achievement and the first affordable EV, which set in motion GM’s all-electric future. As the company continues to grow it’s EV portfolio with the Ultium platform, and as construction continues at the Orion Township, MI, assembly plant in preparation for battery electric truck production beginning in 2024, Chevrolet confirmed Bolt EV and EUV production will end late this year. Chevrolet will launch several new EVs later this year based on the Ultium platform in key segments, including the Silverado EV, Blazer EV and Equinox EV. “
This isn’t entirely unexpected news, as GM has been previewing the move since last year, but the timing is a bit of surprise. As we’ll note later in TMD, GM has revised up its revenue estimates for this year, and GM CEO Mary Barra apparently shared the news on the earnings call this morning.
The Bolt is expected to be replaced with the incoming 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV which will offer more space and tech, albeit at a higher price. Chevrolet claims an MSRP of around $30,000 for the Equinox EV 1LT, but full details are yet to be revealed. Either way, that works out to around $3,500 more than a base-model Bolt. Range is expected to clock in at around 250 miles, while DC fast charging capability gets a handy boost to 150 kW.
If you feel like affordable new cars are rapidly disappearing, you’re not going crazy. Over the past few years, Honda, Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, and Hyundai have all pulled out of the subcompact car segment. Edmunds reports that cars priced under $25,000 made up just 4 percent of the market in March compared to 24 percent of the market in March of 2018. With tax incentives pushing the Bolt deep into sub-$25k territory, we’re losing another option in the critical segment of cars normal people can actually afford.
Once the Bolt exits the marketplace, the only option for a sub-$30,000 new EV will likely be the Nissan Leaf S, which features a small 40 kWh battery pack, a less-common CHAdeMO DC fast charging connector, and just 149 miles of range. Fine for city use, but not brilliant for longer road trips. While it’s possible that another manufacturer could surprise us with an affordable long-range EV, the chances of that are low in the near-term.
The saga of the Bolt reminds me a lot of the Pontiac Fiero. Both were promising entry-level vehicles, both were recalled due to fire risks, and GM killed both right as they got good. Granted, the Bolt’s most memorable fire risk came from improperly-manufactured battery packs and resulted in a months-long stop-sale order, but GM and LG eventually corrected the battery pack manufacturing process, sent the Bolt back out into the world, and retrofitted existing cars with new battery packs.
As a way of making over the Bolt’s image, Chevrolet drastically lowered pricing, and highlighted how badly we need affordable new cars in the process. With a red-hot used car market and shocking new vehicle price creep, inexpensive new cars are critical for keeping Americans moving.
(Photo credits: Chevrolet)
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I think the Bolt looks better than the Model Y. No, I’m not joking.
Mod Y looks like Mod S before Viagra…
I get why they’re killing it, since it’s based on their “old tech.” Probably makes sense from both a manufacturing and service/support standpoint to go all in on the Ultium platform. But it’s a bit disingenuous to tell customers shopping for a compact urban runabout that their needs will now be met by an SUV that’s a whole size and price class higher.
It’s always easier to tell the customer what their needs and solution are going to be than to listen and provide a good solution.
I would think that they would continue building them while they work out the bugs in the new factory. At least GM can launch a product better than Ford
The Bolt was #1 on my list of cars to buy. It’s the perfect car for 99% of the driving I do. My wife’s Grand Cherokee covers the other 1%. Unfortunately I live in an area where dealers got almost zero allocations for the Bolt. I started harassing nine of them when production started up in the spring of last year. No one had an allocation to put in an order for me. But they always had trucks they tried to sell me. Three months of being a thorn in their side followed by three months of being less persistent, I gave up an started exploring other EVs.
I did consider traveling to the east or west coast get one, but the DC fast charging rate convinced me to keep my search within 200 miles.
Can’t even find one around here either. They seem to already be vaporware. Only options are a three year, $500/month lease with $5k down, which is an astoundingly bad deal!
We bought a 2015 Chevy Spark EV back in 2016 as a demo unit (175 miles on odometer) from a Maryland Chevy dealer & had it trucked to our home in NC for $450…
Paid $15.5k on MSRP sticker of ~ $26.5k, drove it 32k miles until selling it last April (’22) to Carvana for $14.3k…
Perfect urban car.
We adore our 2016 Spark EV. About 27,000 miles. So much fun to blast around town in. Yes, we’d give anything for even a few more miles range:)
I hope all the cars they sell are purchased by people who can charge at home. Whether it’s a Bolt or an Equinox, they still have to wait for a public charger because we put the electric cart before the charging horse. Maybe it’s good that GM is using price as a rationing mechanism for the time being until the charging infrastructure becomes a lot more useful.
Demand always comes before supply. Not the other way around.
I’m not surprised to see the OG Bolt discontinued since it has been around for a while, but wasn’t the EUV only released last year? My assumption was the original Bolt would be replaced with the EUV. Replacing it with the Equinox EV doesn’t make sense to me. My suspicion is the Equinox will be a much more expensive product, but Chevrolet will release a short-range version that is priced similarly to the EUV.
It is disappointing to see the only affordable long-range EV cancelled, but I guess it makes sense since the world desperately needs another $100,000 electric SUV.
Chevrolet sucks.
I hate this so much
You *will* buy our bloated overpriced crap! You don’t get a choice in it! Just enough doesn’t exist here, only too much and not enough
More like “too much” or “nothing at all.”
This is setting things up for a foreign automotive invasion again.
I can’t wait for the reaction, I’m investing in popping corn myself.
I used to be a die-hard for American brands. Now? I wouldn’t touch them with a 10 foot pole for numerous reasons.
If the equinox starts in the low 30s, with the tax credit it still ends up being half the price of most foreign options.
Well, this is the perfect time to plug my new startup, Creative Cars & Parts LLC. For the low, low price of $700,000, you can buy an exclusive franchise for a new electric car priced at $11,000 MSRP (brand and manufacturer TBD), or $1.4 million for a state or province-level distributorship. Don’t worry about details, just write me a check. While waiting for your car to be delivered, you can enjoy one of my NFTs dropping soon, which feature our proposed car Photoshopped in front of various American landmarks. Initial coin offering, and electric car driving school franchise opportunity, both coming soon
Damn, I’d be interested in one to replace my Prius commuter, but I need to buy a “first car” first…and I don’t want to buy two cars in one year. Especially with how expensive that other car will likely be.
What’s wrong with the Prius as a first car(other than if you live in an urban area, the high chance of a cat delete)? Honestly you are very lucky if you can find a Bolt to buy anyway.
“First car” needs to carry more stuff and frankly be more comfortable on a road trip. My Gen 3 Prius is pretty loud inside.
And yes, there are no Bolts to buy anyway. Cars.com, while not authoritative, says there are 10 within 200 miles of me. There are like 300 Camaros in that same area. Chevy’s website isn’t saying much different.
I’ve been seeing a ton more Bolts lately, so they’ve definitely been putting them out in the market over the last couple years. It’s a shame, but I’m not as cynical as some here…it’s not like GM will never ever make a smaller affordable EV in the future again. The Equinox EV will be more expensive, but it’s also a much more usable vehicle for more of the population. The Bolt’s size (smaller than the Leaf) and charging capabilities (as mentioned by some owners in the comments here already) put it more in 2nd car status for many people. It does feel early relative to the other EVs’ on-sale date but it also sounds like the plant is getting retooled hence it’s not continuing a bit longer.
I share some of the skepticism about the Equinox EV still making it out under $30k, but even if it crests that (because that feels like a long time ago they announced that price), other more green crossovers like the hybrid RAV4 or CR-V are like $32k+ too.
And as far as cheap cars, and cars in general go…GM just rolled out the new Trax starting at like $21k and is reportedly working on a next-gen Malibu after previously thinking they’d nix it. GM isn’t great about that either (see: the Buick/GMC standard OnStar plan thing) but it’s not like they’re putting Chevy on some upmarket push and you’re SOL if you’re not upper class.
I’m pretty cynical about the pricing, but automakers are going to be forced to offer volume budget options at some point. We as a country are going to be tapped out for credit at some point. I remember 2008.
Prediction: they won’t offer budget volume options.
They’ll get endless bailouts paid for by the taxpayer, and the new cultural expectation will then be that if you need a car, you will be in debt for the next 10+ years. This will price all but the wealthiest 10% out of the new car market. Any foreign competition that attempts to offer affordable options will be kept out of the US with evermore burdensome regulations. Then as the decent running used cars dry up and eventually find their way to the scrap yard, sometime within the next decade or two, the bottom 50% of the population will end up priced out of automobile use altogether as automobile ownership per capita in the US drops off a cliff. Then most will “own nothing and be happy.”
This could actually be a happy story if we remove the bailouts and instead invest in transit.
You’d need to do a lot more than that to make this a happy story. We could start by eliminating the modern equivalent of aristocracy as well as getting rid of most government and most laws. The direction we are currently trending toward is one of increased social stratification, increased micromanagement of our lives by both government and corporation, increased surveillance, and increasing debt servitude, while the biosphere dies. The modern auto industry is playing its role in this trend, and these oversized, expensive, resource-hungry vehicles are in part driving it.
We could have comfortable and spacious $15,000 EV sedans built with 1st world labor paid 1st world wages, that get 200+ miles range, only need 130 Wh/mile, and are built to last a human lifetime and be inexpensively repairable along the way. We could also have enclosed single-seat commuters usable in all weather that only need 10 Wh/mile that cost as much as a moped or scooter to purchase and are greatly cheaper than such to use(I designed/built a proof of concept demonstrating this sort of efficiency). And if the automobile is to ever be sustainable from both an ecological as well as resource standpoint for all 8 billion people on the planet, that is what we need to be the norm.
Instead, it’s probably going to be oversized trucks/SUVs/CUVs for the upper 10%, almost everyone else confined to ghettos of various states of decay and even denied ebikes to “reduce energy consumption”, while the upper 1% continue to ride around in private jets and helicopters.
In urban & suburban areas, yes, 100%. Rural areas would likely still need some personal transportation from town to town.
I grew up rural, college in a small town, and have lived in or around a midsized midwest city since then.
I’ve been driving a ’19 Bolt as the primary family car since I bought it new and it’s been fine. I recognize that it doesn’t fit everyone’s use case, but I can say that for my family it’s been a perfectly serviceable primary driver.
Certainly seems (based on anecdotes like yours) like most households that do add an EV or have it as their second car, end up using it more as the primary daily where possible. I was thinking more of single-car households when I said 2nd car and having an EV as that only car.
Yes, depending on circumstances it might not work as the only vehicle. Before I had the Bolt we had 2 Leafs and I traded mine in for the Bolt because the Leaf battery was too small to accomodate the family in several instances when it mattered. Later my wife got a PHEV because even though the Bolt was capable of the trips we usually take it’s not real comfortable for long periods. And trips did take longer due to charging.
The thing with “more useable for a lot of people” is that it doesn’t mean the market niche doesn’t exist. I have no kids and won’t make any and I live in an urban area. An Equinox makes no sense for me, and the Trax isn’t an EV.
Honestly, it’s not just cynicism, it’s an observation that they’re cutting out a market and don’t have a reasonable alternative for a lot of people.
Sure lots of niches exist, I didn’t say this one doesn’t. My situation is similar to yours, but just as an Equinox wouldn’t make sense for me either, a Bolt seemed too small for me as cars go, and that’s as a small hatchback driver.
There’s little ‘norm’ to a market now when Civics with hubcaps start at $25k (and the Trax mention was about budget car options which is a frequent topic here too about small cheap cars evaporating). The electric versions of the Kona and Niro are probably the closest competitors to the Bolt, maybe the EUV specifically, but start much higher – honestly I’m surprised GM kept it going at the price as long as they did. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they want to put a bit of space between the Bolt fire issues and their next electric lines.
The reason they sold so well is because people want inexpensive EVs with decent range. Now there will be nothing to fill the niche in the U.S. If the Chinese ever figure out how to sell their electric cars here, the legacy manufacturers are going to have problems.
When the next economic crisis is in full swing and the dealership lots are full of unsold oversized/overpriced trucks/SUVs/CUVs, I sincerely hope there are no taxpayer-funded bailouts.
I know a few people who have been actively searching for a Bolt or Bolt EUV (God GM, could you please learn how to name cars? There is nothing pleasant about the sound of E-U-V) that haven’t been able to get their hands one one. Guess they won’t be.
This is a bummer. We’re not ready to replace our around town car, but I was hoping that this segment would at least exist by the time we were ready to go electric. Now I’m going to assume that all of the options are going to be gigantic and 45k plus, and we’ll never be able to afford it.
Yeah they’re impossible to find. There are some leases available for 36 months, $500/month with $5k down but you’d be a fool…
Back in January we placed a request with a local Chevy dealer on a special order Bolt EUV. The dealer is still waiting for an allocation to place an order. I spoke with the salesperson a few weeks back and they hope to start seeing some movement on those around mid-May. TBH, we are considering Equinox EV, but with no idea on pricing it’ll be hard to make a choice.
“…we will no longer be producing the Bolt EV and EUV after the end of the year.”
Translation: we’re redirecting our resources towards higher-margin EVs because money. We got you hooked on a dimebag, but we want to sell you a kilo. In fact, our next EV will be named the Kilo.
The Kilowatt.
so let’s see just what “around $30,000” means when the Equinox is finally released. in theory, $35k is around $30k if you think hard enough about it. also will be curious as to see if the base equinox will get the same range as a Bolt, or will you have to move up to the “around $40,000” trim
Around 30k will mean 39k for a base model that you can’t find on a lot and you can’t force them to build.
One of the reasons for the price creep has been the elimination of base models, and the myth of mid level trims. When we were van shopping, I noticed that Honda had eliminated the LX trim on the Odyssey, so we looked for an EX. Well, the EX only exists in theory, Honda builds hardly any of them at all and people fight tooth and nail for them. So the real base model, the EX-L, which is like 42k, is what you end up with. For a van that you could buy for a little over 30k back in 2018.
I guess my point is, this BS has been applied to all cars, electric or not.
2023 Bolt EUV owner here. It’s a fairly fantastic little car with great range and a reasonably low cost. Simple to live with and simple to own. It’s a shame they’ll discontinue it.
GM continues its decades-long tradition of launching a car to high expectations, falling short of expectations, but boldly soldiering on to improve and improve until they get it exactly right… then killing it.
I get it. They created an EV platform that will allow them to make a number of different vehicles, and the Bolt isn’t a part of that. It still feels like a bad move to kill off the EV that is cheap enough and capable enough to get people into an EV. An update would have been great, but they could have even kept it as-is, especially until the Equinox actually comes out.
I’m assuming based on the statement that they need to retool the factory, so soldiering on wasn’t an option.
That’s probably accurate, but it still feels like they’re getting ahead of themselves announcing the end of the Bolt without their other EVs on the market yet.
I suspect they also want to sell off the Bolts so that people looking at the Equinox or such don’t start looking at the cheaper vehicle (and so the salesfolk don’t need to know how to justify the Equinox–should be easy with the faster charging, but so many don’t know much about EVs).
Those things would not be as true if it wasn’t for the Inflation deal; a Bolt EV or such could have been imported from Korea or China but it can’t really compete with an Equinox EV which gets massive tax breaks. And I understand that building a compact car here makes much less sense for the company.
Yeah, that is true. The Niro/Kona EV would be great at filling that gap if not for the tax credit (or if we extended the credit to vehicles made by free trade partners). And they might gain some market share in the absence of the Bolt, even without Kiundai making them in the US.
OEM’s won’t be happy until everyone is forced to buy their highest margin 3/4 ton trucks. fucking sucks for the consumer.
I get that inexpensive cars that just work don’t make the highest profit, but this sucks. Across EVs and ICE cars, unfussy transportation seems to disappear over and over. Volt. Fiesta/Focus. Fit. Yaris.
Honestly makes me appreciate the Mitsubishi Mirage. Yes, it is extremely basic. That is the point.
Small cars that are completely honest, simple, cheerful, and approachable are a dying breed and it really sucks.
Every car on your list is on MY list for something I’d like to buy if they still made them. 🙁
Another small car meets its doom in the SUVpocalypse. The only issue with the Bolt is that it’s limited to 50 kW charging, which really makes it impractical for long trips (hour+ for 20-80%). I’m approaching a year ownership of my Bolt EV, and it’s probably the best car I’ve ever owned.
Classic GM. Make a car. Fix the issues as they make it. It’s finally great in a few years. Then they kill it.
Don’t worry, there’s almost certainly a $50,000+ Camaro Cross EV coming in the next couple of years
*screaming begins again*
Bolt EUV owner since September. It’s really an excellent vehicle, especially at it’s current price w/ the tax credit. A shame that it’ll go away, as it really offers a lot in the $20-25k range.
That said, I think the Equinox will fill that slot pretty well, albeit at a bit of a higher price.
Basically the only thing keeping me out of a Bolt EUV (besides my ’17 Volt which only has like 40k on it) is the slow CCS charge time. We’re a single car household and we don’t road trip much but when we do I think the 50kw charge rate wouldn’t work out well for us. As a second car though it’s like the perfect vehicle for most families.
Yup, that’s exactly right (it’s a 2nd car in our household). I’ve taken a few trips that required fast charging…it’s doable if the trip only requires one stop or so. But for anything extended, it’s just not meant to do it.
That’s basically where I am on it. I drive to see family a few times a year, and it’s just slow enough charging that I can’t justify it. The Equinox might be the sweet spot for me, but we’ll have to see how it turns out.
This is a bit of a shame but it’s unsurprising. Corporate greed always wins in the end and when GM can charge you more for the Equinox EV they aren’t going to keep the Bolt on the market. Which sucks, because it’s a decent car and more or less the perfect EV solution for the majority of shoppers, especially considering the EUV option which tricks SUV buyers into what’s essentially a hatchback.
I think history will prove to be kinder to this car than the present is…and we all know never to underestimate GM’s ability to shoot itself in the dick repeatedly, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Equinox is somehow much worse while still being more expensive. The Bolt brought EVs to the masses in the US and despite its issues along the way I think it’s a product that’s worthy of our respect.
This isn’t exactly shocking. It was sparked in the early 2010’s when EV tech was in its relative infancy. Now with a storm of new vehicles sharing a common platform on the horizon, discharging the old tech that can’t be scaled makes sense.
Another great car killed by GM. First the Volt, now the Bolt. For the starting price plus tax credit availability, this was the cheapest EV you could get with a reasonable range and tech (Even supercruise available). This is the perfect commuter car, what a shame
Re: “Another great car killed by GM. First the Volt, now the Bolt”
Let me fix that for you…
Another great (Electric) car killed by GM. First the EV1, Then the Volt and now the Bolt
Admittedly the EV1 was an expensive science project that was really a proof of engineering concept; though from all accounts I’ve seen/read for the electric car tech at the time it was awell thought out & well executed product that lease customers genuinely loved And it was intentionally hamstrung by GM w/very limited units produced and GM wouldn’t allow anyone to actually buy one instead leasr only & no buy-out option at the end of the lease though several owners tried (& sued to no avail).