{"id":13933,"date":"2022-01-26T11:52:47","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T16:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=13933"},"modified":"2022-01-26T11:52:47","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T16:52:47","slug":"burned-out-its-looking-more-and-more-certain-that-the-chevy-bolt-is-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=13933","title":{"rendered":"Burned out: it’s looking more and more certain that the Chevy Bolt is dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

GM\u2019s troubled Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV models have been out of production for months, and more and more evidence points to the fact that Bolt production at GM\u2019s Orion plant, if it ever does restart<\/a>, won\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n

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GM revealed a $7 billion plan to take the EV fight to Ford and Tesla yesterday<\/a>, announcing plans to overhaul its EV and battery cell production lines, create new jobs, and convert its Orion Township assembly plant to produce Ultium platform electric pickup trucks like the new Chevy Silverado EV<\/a> and upcoming GMC Sierra EV. Notably absent from its big announcement, however, is where the Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV \u2013 the cars currently built at the Orion<\/a> plant \u2013 will be built once the plant\u2019s makeover is complete.<\/p>\n

The answer to that question may very well be: nowhere<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What they say<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s look at what GM has to say. Asked about Chevy Bolt production, GM spokesperson Dan Flores told CNN Business<\/a>, \u201cOrion is currently down through February, so we can continue focusing LG battery pack production on recall repairs.\u201d When asked what would happen once the battery pack production for the multibillion dollar recall was complete, Flores said, \u201cGM has not yet made a decision beyond February.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite once being a fairly advanced EV, it\u2019s hard to imagine a world where building the Chevy Bolt, as it is, makes much sense. On its best day, the most recent model year Chevy Bolt would take over an hour and forty minutes to go from a 10% to 85%<\/a> charge \u2013 which may have been fine when the Bolt was fresh and new in MY 2017, but in today\u2019s market, when a comparably-priced and in-demand Volkswagen ID.4<\/a> that doesn\u2019t have a reputation for burning down parking garages can do the same trick in an hour less time? A ninety minute charge time is simply not good enough. <\/p>\n

Chevy Bolt (fast charge) vs. VW ID.4, screencap from Chargeway<\/a> tablet app.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Add in the fact that the LG battery in the Chevy Bolt models use a completely different battery from the latest GM electric platform, the objectively superior Ultium, and the business case for more Chevy Bolts just gets that much harder to make.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s especially true in light of Mary Barra\u2019s \u201cOne More Thing\u201d announcement of an all-new $30,000 all-electric Chevy Equinox at CES<\/a> a few weeks ago, which \u2013 along with the fact that GM reportedly lost as much as $9,000 on each of the Bolt EVs it sold before the recalls, according to a Bloomberg report at the time of the car\u2019s launch<\/a> \u2013 may be the final nail in the Chevy Bolt\u2019s coffin.<\/p>\n

Electrek\u2019s Take<\/h2>\n

As the used car market continues to defy logic and new car dealers are still playing games with markups<\/a> and market-adjusted pricing, a \u201cwindow-cling certified<\/a>\u201d Chevy Bolt may represent one of the few automotive bargains still out there \u2013 especially if you don\u2019t plan on taking it beyond its 200-ish mile range anytime soon. If GM does<\/em> decide to let the Bolt rest in peace, that may even drive prices down on what is, otherwise, a decent-looking, reasonably capable hatchback.<\/p>\n

Original content from Electrek<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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