For GM, the new Bolt EV seems to be the best thing since sliced bread. The brand expects that Chevy dealers will be killin’ it in electric car sales thanks to the Bolt EV jolting the current electric car market (a double pun!). And it looks like GM might be on to something. As soon as whiffs of the Bolt EV started permeating from GM, reviewers and electric-car enthusiasts alike blew a fan on it – causing it to engulf the internet for almost the past year. Therefore, the hype is real for this five-passenger crossover EV.
While it’s too early to validate GM’s predictions about the Bolt EV as a huge game changer in the electric car market, I’d still confidently put money on that bet. For a couple of reasons, which are as follows…
Finally! A Freakin’ Reasonably Priced, Long-Lasting EV
While the Chevy Volt is doing wonders for the EV market, it’s still no where near the new Chevrolet Bolt EV’s combination of driving range and price.
For years, consumers who want electric cars have all complained in unison about the same thing: why can’t we just have a reasonably priced electric car that drives a typical distance before having to recharge? It’s almost 2017, after all. So, where is that car?
It’s right here, and is currently in EV-friendly states like California. The Bolt EV is that reasonably priced EV that drives a good amount of distance before having to recharge. It has a starting price of $37,500, $29,995 after federal tax credit, with a range of 238 all-electric miles. 238 electric miles. A fact that is stuffing it to Tesla and other automakers who make over-the-top, but under-performing electric rides. For example, Tesla’s Model 3 five-passenger, planned for release in 2018, starts at $35,000, but only boasts a 215-mile range.
This is the primary reason I’m putting money on GM’s prediction of the Bolt EV to jump start this market: because it’s the electric-car that consumers have been craving since day one.
It’s Also the Style of Car We Want
As if the ratio of driving range-to-price wasn’t a deadly enough combination, the Bolt EV has also been designed according to consumer demand. It’s been designed in the body style that’s white hot on the market right now – the five-passenger hatchback. A good play on GM’s part, considering that the Bolt EV will blend right in with other popular gas-powered models in the same family — like the Ford Focus and Chevy Cruze hatchback.
What’s Holding it Back?
So, what’s holding GM’s hero of the electric-vehicle market from savagely going on a warpath, and dominating every other EV on the market? Apart from being new, it’s facing the same primary issue its brother and sister electric-cars are currently facing – lack of EV friendly states. Combine that with the fact that GM made it a priority to release it in Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate states first — hence why California and Oregon have the new Bolt right now — and it’s hard for this vehicle to gain traction.
As fuel prices still linger on the border of affordable and WTF, and America’s newfound passion to go green picks up speed, we can expect the Bolt EV to lead the charge when electric cars do hit it big, which would make GM’s prediction spot-on.
