To be discontinued in December 2023, the Chevrolet Bolt wasn't supposed to receive a successor. But as it happens, none other than General Motors chief executive officer Mary Barra confirmed the return of the Bolt in the Chevy lineup as the lesser sibling of the Equinox EV.
Confirmed with Ultium hardware and Ultifi software, Chevrolet's redesigned Bolt isn't a ground-up redesign. Barra made it clear that we're dealing with a major update rather than a clean-sheet design. Be that as it may, it's not clear whether the Bolt EV will continue on the BEV2 platform or switch to the BEV3 of the 2024 model year Chevrolet Equinox EV, Blazer EV, and Cadillac Lyriq.
Improving an existing platform with next-gen technologies may seem a bit cheap, although it does make sense. Not only does GM reduce design and production costs, but simpler is better in this industry. If the Bolt switches to BEV3, that's also good news because Ultium-specific batteries are more cost-effective than the lithium-ion pack of the current Bolt EV and Bolt EUV.
The good folks at Halo oto rendered the second generation with small changes from the first. As you can tell from the video below, exterior design changes are best described as evolutionary rather than revolutionary. But alas, bear in mind that an unofficial rendering is exactly that, not a design sketch from GM Design or a preview from General Motors. In other words, the real thing may be very different from this design study.
Hearsay suggests 2025 as the first model year of the second-gen Bolt, although that may be wishful thinking. 2025 for model year 2026 seems more like it. What else can prospective customers look forward to? A single motor is utmost certain, although it remains to be seen whether General Motors will switch to rear-wheel drive for the second generation. Volvo subsidiary Polestar did exactly that to the Polestar 2.
We're also expecting more driving range from a high-voltage battery with roughly the same capacity as the 65-kWh unit of the first generation. Covered by eight years of warranty, the lithium-ion pack offers up to 259 miles (417 kilometers) of driving range in the Bolt EV or 247 miles (398 kilometers) for the Bolt EV.
Boasting 57 cubic feet (1,614 liters) of maximum cargo volume as opposed to 56.9 (1,611 liters) for the crossover-like Bolt EUV, the Bolt EV is America's most affordable new electric vehicle. Prices kick off at $26,500 compared to $28,140 for the Nissan Leaf and $30,900 for the MINI Cooper SE. As for the Bolt EUV, make that $27,800 before the $995 destination charge.
Bolt EV and Bolt EUV deliveries totaled 33,659 vehicles in the first half of 2023, up from 7,303 in the first half of 2022. First-half deliveries are better in Canada as well, namely 6,781 compared to 1,239 units.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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