Chevy Bolt Will Be Killed Off To Make Room For Better Cars

Jul. 13, 2022 5:43 PM ET by Chase Bierenkoven Industry News / 5 Comments

The Chevrolet Bolt's days are numbered.

The future of the Chevrolet Bolt is in question right now. GM will unveil the Equinox EV in September, which should round out to roughly $30,000. Frankly, things don't look good for GM's cheapest EV. The Bolt EV starts at just $26,595 and the Bolt EUV will start at $28,195. One of those two is closer to the Equinox than the other, and the latter is a small hatchback- essentially a death sentence in the American market for all but the segment's bastions (like the Golf GTI).

"Will Bolt be in our portfolio 'x' numbers of years from now? No, it won't. It's a great product right now. It will be with us for some time. But as we scale and ramp volume here, portfolios change," said Steve Majoros, Chevy's VP of Marketing.

2022-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV Front Angle View

2022-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV Side View Driving

Majoros, speaking to the Detroit Free Press went on to say that the Bolt will "be with us for the foreseeable future and as we ramp portfolio, then we'll see about the long game for that, so … more to come." A restructuring of GM's manufacturing capabilities won't kill the Bolt either. Not yet, at least.

GM has dumped a whopping $7 billion into its manufacturing capabilities in Michigan. That includes the Orion Assembly plant, where the Bolt is currently built. The model will eventually share a production line with the Silverado EV and the electric GMC Sierra. Despite that, Majoros said the Bolt's production "will continue during the plant's conversion." That said, it would be foolish not to take into account what happened to the Bolt's predecessor. Once you do, things start to sound familiar.

2022-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV Rear Angle View

The Chevrolet Volt was a popular hybrid in the lineup until 2019. Then, one day, GM pulled the plug on the hybrid. It did so to make room for a new, cheap electric car. The Bolt. Now, a new, cheap electric car is on the horizon. One that will occupy an incredibly similar slot in the market.

The trend is certainly there, though Majoros has made it clear the Bolt won't die come September once the Equinox EV drops. Still, it is possible that Chevrolet sees some value in the Bolt and decides to keep the small hatch and EUV in rotation.