GM to kill off Chevy Bolt, paving way for new EVs
In GM's (GM) earnings conference call today, the automaker dropped a bomb on electric vehicle enthusiasts and the automotive industry.
"We have progressed so far that it's now time to plan to end the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV production, which will happen at the very end of the year," GM CEO Mary Barra said while discussing GM’s EV game plan for 2023.
That the news was disclosed almost as an aside on an earnings call was a bit unusual. Normally, a company would make a more formal announcement. After all, the Bolt is GM’s top EV seller by a long shot — last quarter GM sold 20,670 EVs, and only 700 of those were non-Bolts.
Late last year, GM said it was going to boost Bolt production to 70,000 units for 2023, from around 44K units it made in 2022.
On the flip side the Bolt, which has had its own checkered past with a huge recall due to a battery fire risk, was something of a remnant of GM’s EV past. The Bolt is not built on the new Ultium platform that will power all GM EVs going forward and uses an older battery cell structure made by GM partner LG Energy Solution.
“I was initially surprised to hear about GM ending Bolt production, as it’s currently among the best-selling EVs on the market,” said Karl Brauer of iSeeCars.com to Yahoo Finance. “While relatively successful it doesn’t represent GM’s electric future. The Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Equinox EV, and Silverado EV are all based on the company’s new Ultium platform, and all will be arriving this year.”
GM did give an update on its upcoming EVs this year, noting that Silverado EV deliveries were set to begin in late Q2 to approximately 340 fleet customers, with production ramping up in Q2. GM also said the Chevy Blazer EV was on track to launch this summer, and the Chevy Equinox EV was set to launch this fall.
Though the new Bolt EV and EUV both started considerably below $30,000, making the compact and fun-to-drive models a relative deal, it’s possible margins on the vehicle were not the most attractive, given the economies of scale advantages and new battery partners GM has lined up for the Ultium platform.
"GM is able to offer affordable, and most importantly, profitable models positioned just above Bolt," said Tyson Jominy, J.D. Power's VP of data and analytics, citing the Ultium platform as the reason why. "Equinox EV starts around $30,000 and Blazer EV around $40,000. Both of these models are SUVs, the body style US consumers demand with a 60% retail share when considering all fuel types, such as internal combustion. Bolt couldn’t get cheaper and remain profitable, and it couldn’t move upmarket since Equinox slots directly above it."
When it arrives this fall, the Equinox EV will likely replace the Bolt as GM’s volume, entry-level SUV when production likely ramps up at the end of the year.
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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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