General Motors has announced that both the 2023 Chevy Bolt EV and its EUV counterpart will cease production by the end of this year. The Orion Assembly plant in Michigan, where the Bolt is manufactured, will be retooled to begin producing electric pickup trucks next year, starting with the Chevy Silverado EV. This move comes after the Bolt hit a sales record of 38,120 in 2022, recovering from its battery fire recall that caused controversy and dwindling sales.
At its inception in 2017, the Bolt was one of the few electric vehicles with a respectable range, returning an EPA-estimated 238 miles on its 60.0-kWh battery. Recently, the Bolt’s sales never quite took off as much as GM hoped, falling far behind Tesla. Despite Chevy still selling approximately 20,000 units annually, GM plans to switch gears to its electric pickup trucks, which are predicted to produce annual sales of 600K units when the Orion facility is operating at full capacity.
Although sales of the Bolt are ending, it has paved the way for GM’s newest electric lineup based on the Ultium platform first introduced on the GMC Hummer EV. However, the Bolt duo does not have direct replacements waiting in the wings. As for GM’s entry-level electric vehicle, the Equinox EV will be going on sale this year with a starting price over $30,000.
In conclusion, the end of the production of the Chevy Bolt and EUV may seem like a loss for the company, but it’s a step forward for GM’s shift to EVs as more models are introduced using the Ultium platform. The Bolt’s legacy lives on as a car that helped to build Chevy’s EV expertise and bring EVs to a wider audience, and it’s exciting to imagine what GM’s electric pickup trucks have in store for the future.
