General Motors (GM) CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday, April 25, during an earnings call with investors that the firm expects to halt the manufacture of the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) by the end of the year.
Despite its Mass-Market Success
The Chevy Bolt EV and the electric utility vehicle (EUV) variant of this automobile contributed a great bulk of the company's EV sales. However, they have a different, old battery architecture and chemistry than the modern GM electric cars such as GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq.
In a CNBC report, CEO Barra claimed that the suburban Detroit factory that has manufactured Chevrolet Bolts since 2016 would be modified in 2024 to build Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra electric cars.
The Bolt's cancellation at this particular time is ironic, according to CNBC. The announcement comes as GM achieves its original aim of mass-market success with the car, setting manufacturing and sales records in the process.
As part of its goal to sell over 400,000 EVs in North America between early 2022 and mid-2024, the firm strives to build more than 70,000 Bolt vehicles this year.
GM introduced the Bolt in 2016, a year before Tesla's Model 3. Both were hailed as the first mass-market long-range EVs, with prices beginning at roughly $35,000.
Sales of the Bolt were never as successful as the company's management had intended, and the EV market outside of Tesla remained small.
Recent years have not been kind to the Bolt, though. GM recalled every single Bolt ever made after several fires were traced to faulty batteries supplied by the manufacturer.
"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," said Chevrolet spokesperson Cody Williams.
The Future EVs
The Silverado EV, Blazer EV, and Equinox EV are just a few of the new electric cars that Chevrolet plans to release this year based on the Ultium platform. GM plans to introduce its new electric cars at a far more rapid rate than it has introduced its luxury Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq models.
According to CBS News, Barra has said that after the Orion, Michigan facility reopens and achieves full production, the firm will have the potential to construct 600,000 electric trucks yearly, and employment will have roughly tripled.
In an effort to catch up to Tesla, GM has set a goal of producing 1 million EVs per year in the US and China.
Chevy Bolt variants start around $30,000, making them the most affordably priced new EVs in the US market. When the Equinox EV debuts this autumn, it is predicted to have a comparable base price.
