GM’s EV plans begin to take shape with new Chevy Bolts at lower prices

DETROIT – General Motors’ pivot to become an electric vehicle company by 2035 is begins to take shape as the automaker prepares to release two Chevrolet Bolt models this summer in front of a flagship $ 113,000 GMC Hummer EV pickup truck later this year.

The all-electric bolts – a redesigned hatchback and a new crossover – both start at under $ 34,000. This is the beginning of what GM hopes will eventually be a full range of “affordable” cars, as the company builds scale to reduce the cost of its next-generation electric vehicles, such as the Hummer, with new battery systems and platforms.

“If you look at what the GMC Hummer EVs represent and what the Bolt EVs can represent in the body,” Jesse Ortega, chief engineer of GM’s battery electric vehicle architecture, said during a media conference. “It really gives us the solid bookends of what we are capable of.”

This is a two-pronged approach to addressing the mainstream and luxury markets. The price difference between those ‘bookends’ is largely down to the battery technologies in the vehicles. The Bolt models are on the car manufacturer’s current EV platform and feature batteries that offer less driving distance than GM’s next generation Ultium platform and batteries, which start on the Hummer EV.

All three vehicles are part of the automaker’s plan to launch 30 new or redesigned EVs by 2025 under a $ 27 billion investment plan in electric and autonomous vehicles.

“You can see the deliberate strategy here,” said Tony Johnson, director of Chevrolet Marketing. “The purpose of these two offerings is to go to main street and to start spreading EV acceptance across the board. The other brands in the business, of course, each have their own role to play in filling our journey here.”

GM currently has no plans to move the Bolts to the next-generation platform, Ortega said.

GM CEO Mary Barra and President Mark Reuss said next-generation vehicles would be profitable, unlike the Bolt EV. Johnson and other GM officials declined to comment on whether the Bolt models to be launched later this year would be profitable.

After being in the market for four years, the GM engineering team took a “phenomenal job quality, driving stability and management cost out of the system,” Johnson said. He said the progress led to the company lowering the price of the Bolt.

The new 2022 Bolt utility vehicle starts at $ 33,995. This compares to the Bolt EV which will start at $ 31,995 – more than $ 5,000 lower than the 2021 model.

Profitable or not, the vehicles give GM an EV that is priced among other competitors, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E crossover at $ 43,000 (before a federal tax credit of up to $ 7,500 that GM and Tesla buyers are no longer eligible for) not) and Tesla Model 3, which starts at about $ 37,000.

The Bolt EV has a range of 259 miles on full charge, while the Bolt EUV reaches 250 miles. It can be compared to GM vehicles with Ultium technology which is expected to reach up to 450 miles per charge.

GMs have also added additional technology to the Bolt models to make them more competitive. The Bolt EUV is the first of Chevrolet to be equipped with GM’s hands-free Super Cruise semi-autonomous highway steering system, which uses face recognition to determine if the driver is paying attention so they do not have to touch the steering wheel while the system is operating.

The presentation of the cheapest vehicles is part of the new ‘all in’ marketing campaign, which focuses on growing EV acceptance. In doing so, the company hopes to attract new buyers to the segment and retain them for years to come. This includes being able to swap in a cheaper vehicle for a next-generation EV as costs fall.

“Our vision is that we want our customers for life,” Ortega said. “So, as their needs grow and their lifestyle changes, we want to offer them an EV for that.”

A cost-cutting lynchpin is expected to be GM making its own battery cells through a joint venture with LG Chem in Ohio. The $ 2.3 billion facility is currently under construction. It is expected to be completed in 2022.