GM to retire the Chevy Bolt EV to make way for electric pickups

Bloomberg

General Motors will end the seven-year run of the Chevrolet Bolt compact EV and its Bolt EUV stablemate as the company converts a plant in Orion, Michigan, to produce large electric trucks.

GM will make the move by year-end as the automaker reconfigures its sole Bolt plant to begin building battery-powered versions of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-sized pickups. The factory will be a key part in the company’s strategy to sell 1 million EVs in 2025, but will also end production of one the cheapest battery-powered models on the market.

Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra made the sudden announcement Tuesday on the company’s first-quarter earnings call with analysts.

“We’ve progressed so far that it’s now time to plan the end of Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV production, which will happen at the end of the year,” she said.GM’s decision to end Bolt production, which had been the subject of speculation for more than a year, ends a period when the company made small EVs largely to meet regulatory requirements and ushers in an era of converting all models to electric drive. It echoes its quiet move to kill off the two-seater EV1, its short-lived and first fully electric vehicle from the late 1990s.

The Bolt gave GM a foothold in the EV market with its initial foray into battery cell production with partner LG, even as the carmaker worked on the next-generation Ultium battery, which powers its latest EV models. The standard Bolt and EUV will account for about 80,000 of the 150,000 EVs the company expects to build this year.

Barra has said Bolt owners are very loyal to GM, though some were turned off when the car was plagued by a rare defect that led to battery fires. That forced GM to recall every one of the 142,000 vehicles that were made. While owners waited for a new battery, they had to severely limit the charge on the battery and, as a result, how far they could drive.

Chevy cut prices on the Bolt by $6,000 last year. Its starting price of $26,500 before tax credits makes it one of the cheapest vehicles of any kind for sale in the U.S. Later this year, GM will begin producing the Chevy Equinox small SUV. Eventually, the company plans to introduce a version of that model starting at around $30,000 to give a low-priced option for EV buyers.