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After revealing the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt’s surprising EPA-estimated range (238 miles), General Motors has now rolled out the price for its long-awaited electric car.
What will it take to get into Chevy’s EV? $37,495, which includes destination. A federal tax credit lowers that to $29,995, or five bucks below the “affordable car threshold” so sought after by EV builders.
GM touts the hatchback Bolt as the first affordable long-range electric vehicle, clearly enjoying the year-long lead it has on rival Tesla. The first Bolts should appear onto select dealer lots in December, while Tesla’s EV for the masses — the Model 3 — isn’t due until late next year.
In Canada, the Bolt carries an MSRP of $42,795, plus a $1,600 fright charge. Depending on the province, government EV incentives could lower that price significantly. In Ontario, the entry price would come to $33,034, including freight.
In the U.S., the federal tax credit only applies to the first 200,000 Bolts produced. GM would like the Bolt to do well, but EVs are still a niche market, despite the 373,000 reservations for the Model 3. Don’t feel the need to hurry to avoid missing out on that tax credit.
Contrasting the Bolt and its chief rival, which will be the second “affordable” long-range EV, the Bolt has the upper hand in range (238 miles versus the Model 3’s 215), but the Tesla undercuts it in price. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is adamant that the Model 3 will start around $35,000 before the tax credit.
That price could easily change, as could the Model 3’s range, as a lot can happen in the course of a year. Tesla claims its low-cost EV’s battery will be smaller than 60 kWh, which happens to be the size of the Bolt’s battery pack. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Musk tack a few more miles onto his range estimate.
[Image: General Motors]
“… In Canada, the Bolt carries an MSRP of $42,795, plus a $1,600 fright charge.”
Apparently, range anxiety is over-the-top in the Great White North.
In other words, GM expects the prospective customer to Boltly go where no Volt has gone before…
I still think it’s a really tough sell to move these when the Tesla 3 is cheaper, even though it’s not here yet. Trendy people will happily wait for trendy product.
And this isn’t trendy.
I’d take the Bolt now over the Model 3 in whenever it will be available. I am skeptical about the final price of the Model 3 too.
You’re a practical purchaser of vehicles though.
That’s not who we’re dealing with here!
I must admit that I really like the Bolt. If I wasn’t such a cheap ass, I’d trade in my C-Max for one.
The Bolt is a downgrade from the C-Max anyway. You know how I know? Just count the number of grilles!
I really like what I’m reading about the drive, but the interior looks far cheaper than the Volt’s (or even the C-Max’s) from the pictures.
No sunroof available is also a big bummer.
And I want to know about rear seat height; that’s really what will determine whether a Bolt will be on the menu when the C-Max lease expires in 2019.
My family is rich with grilles.
Dal-
You are right about the C-Max’s seat/step in height. It is one of the best things about the vehicle.
how can the Model 3 be cheaper when it isn’t going to exist for almost two years? Plus, the Volt shows that GM is capable of building an electric car which is actually reliable. Tesla, not so much.
Stop being sensible.
oh, I forgot. If I buy a Bolt I won’t be able to go around bragging about how I have a reservation for a Tesla.
BINGO.
Now you’re gettin it. Less about product, more about purchase experience and branding. This is the Way Of The Millennial.
“oh, I forgot. If I buy a Bolt I won’t be able to go around bragging about how I have a reservation for a Tesla.”
-Actually, you can do both ^_^
Stonn, she (the Bolt) is yours. After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.
“…In Canada, the Bolt carries an MSRP of $42,795, plus a $1,600 fright charge. Depending on the province, government EV incentives could lower that price significantly. In Ontario, the entry price would come to $33,034, including freight.”
Canuk’s are getting slapped in the face with a rubber hose once again…
Golly Gee Whiz….I have a feeling that at that price point the Bolt is bound to be a MASSIVE SALES SUCCESS JUST LIKE IT’S COUSIN… THE VOLT! NOT!
…All sarcasm aside… that price really does suck!
Am I missing something? At the current exchange rate, that’s a bargain. $37,495 converted into Canadian dollar should be just under $50,000.
Tack on another grand or so for the electrical upgrade to da house. Still, if I’m comfortable in and can see out of one I’m very interested.
Depending on where you live, you may make that grand back at sale time. Here in Seattle people love seeing a 220v outlet in the garage.
Great point that hadn’t occurred to me.
Ohio, after hitting the charging port with front end of Avalon:
“What’s that there for, you put another dryer in yer garage?”
Welder!
I had a 220v outlet installed at the door end of my garage for my welder. Cost me under $300.
It will make it more desirable to some people but it is not a feature that enough data and demand exist that you will see an adjustment for it on an appraisal. So I put it in the category of something that makes it easier to sell (to certain people) but not one that will increase the resale value of your home at this point in time.
All it has to do is make one or two families decide they want that house instead of the one down the street. Shorter time on the market (if you’re in a city with a depressed housing market) and better chances of a bidding war (if you’re in a city with a housing shortage).
Sorry but no, that is not the way it works. The appraiser doesn’t know that the buyer was willing to pay more because that house had and was including a charging station.
I don’t do much with new construction but now I’m going to have to check and see if any builders are offering pre-wiring for a charging station as an “up-grade”. If they are you can bet your last dollar that they will fall into the POC or paid outside of closing list of upgrades. POC upgrades are POC because the builder knows that there will not be an addition on the appraisal for that item. Hence why you will see that model home or that completed home marketing as including $xx in “free upgrades”.
Fact is the vast majority of homes that will be owner occupied are still purchased with loans. The appraisal is what sets how much the lender is willing to loan/what LTV and corresponding rates/terms are available with a given down payment.
In my city, bidding wars for desirable houses drive selling prices tens of thousands of dollars over list on a regular basis, and these deals are not getting shut down due to lender/appraisal concerns.
I think a buyer willing to pay a couple thousand more for house A than house B because it has is not going to trip any alarm bells. It’s so small of an amount to just be noise in the data, compared to what’s already going on.
The appraiser is unlikely to have a problem in this overheated market until the bids get truly ridiculous.
I’m closing next week on a house in the city of Seattle for about 4% over asking… and the appraisal actually came in significantly higher than my offer.
@ Lack Thereof, My point is that a charging station is not an add on an appraisal. The sales price over asking price is handled and adjusted for in the market conditions section of the appraisal form. Plus when you have a history of bidding wars for the last few months the apprasial is based on sales price of those others that went above asking price. It is also influenced by the all cash buyers that are popping up at least in the Seattle area.
The other factor that is hard to determine the effects of is what happens when the appraisal does come in low. Many times the buyer still wants to move forward and is willing to pay the difference or adjust the loan to make it happen. Those sales then are the basis for future appraisals.
Currently in our market what we see going on is deliberate pricing under market to incite a bidding war. In fact that strategy has finally influenced the listing fields in the local MLS. There is a recently added “offer review date” field and we no longer have to have a letter on file showing that the “owner” is requesting a delayed offer review. So my prediction is that things will only get worse in that regard in our area.
@ Dal, Congratulations glad you finally found something that will work for you and your family.
@Scoutdude
If I’m reading Lack’s posting correctly, the suggestion wasn’t that a home EVSE would impact appraisal value, but could provide a little more desirability when a buyer is faced with two or more homes they are considering and need to get down to which one they want to buy.
Thanks. It was very good luck; one more week and we would have had to rent an interim place. As it is we’ll have just one day to get our move done, which is next Thursday.
Once we close I expect you’ll be able to figure out which is our house, without a great deal of difficulty, if I tell you that it’s a very average early ’50s one-story in a neighborhood of mostly big old Victorians well out of our price range. We didn’t expect we would be able to buy into this neighborhood.
@ Dal, sometimes when things are meant to be they just fall into place. Sounds like things may have been stressful around your place for the last few weeks.
Speaking of stress, have you considered a Pods or similar service? Though I don’t know if you could get one delivered by this weekend at such short notice. That way you can stuff it full of part of your belongings this weekend and have it delivered to your new place next weekend or the weekend after that. A little more expensive for certain but it could reduce the stress level which could certainly be worth it.
And yeah with that info I can probably figure it out as there can’t be too many that fit that bill that close on that day. Don’t worry I’ll keep quiet about it around here.
Post his address, duh!
The tax credit phaseout is per manufacturer, not per model. Volt sales will count towards GM’s total.
“In the U.S., the federal tax credit only applies to the first 200,000 Bolts produced.” (not true)
You are correct, FormerFF. GM has already shipped a fair number of EVs that count toward the 200k number.
This is a fear some Model 3 reservists have – that Tesla’ 200k limit will be reached before they get their car. I was in early, so I *think* I’ll be OK.
“There’s a Nut for every Bolt…”
How many bolts does it take to put a car together?
Hundreds, but it only takes one nut to scatter it all over the highway…
I didn’t know it at the time but when I leased my Spark EV, GM sent me a letter offering a $500 rebate on a Lvl 2 Charger from Bosch. I went ahead and had one installed. Out-of-pocket expense: $270. Well worth the expense. It’ll add desirability to my house when I sell and I’ll be ready for a Bolt when my Spark EV lease is up in 2018.
That’s too much for an EV, similar to pricing of hybrids when they first came out.
Wonder if the Chevy Bolt is Roomy enough for tall drivers =>6ft+ and broad shoulders.
Don’t mind a hatchback as long as it’s roomy.
Just price the car without any federal subsidies involved and let the market take care of itself. If people want EVs (similar to what happened to hybrids), then let them buy one without any of other peoples’ money via govt tax subsidies.
You realize that standard hybrids use to come with tax credits too?
The whole point of tax credits is to give manufacturers an incentive to develop a desired technology and give consumers an incentive to purchase it, with the long term goal of phasing out the tax credits as the technology gains consumer acceptance.
It is true the market will decide. This does not preclude the use of incentives.
The reason the US wants to incentivise EV’s and the technology required to build them is to gain an advantage in the world markets. This is a golden opportunity to solve the trade deficit which is partly driven by oil imports. If we miss this opportunity then we will simply trade Lion batteries in place of oil. We want to be first in this race, we can’t keep borrowing money to keep the economy afloat, here’s a chance to make the economy pay for itself. That’s a worth a few of my tax dollars.
We can sit back and watch what happens, but we take the risk we will be dead last in the world marketplace which would be a shame given the opportunity this new marketplace offers.
Preach on, J P White! This guy gets it.
JPWhite for President. He’s clearly more qualified than the orange guy.
I have not sat in one but the claim is that they are very roomy. And they will lay a nice patch.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/henry-payne/2016/09/13/payne-chevy-bolt/90291548/
“And they will lay a nice patch.”
The sam hill would I want to go around leaving part of my expensive tires on the road for?
I’m sure that the TC was tweaked to a less-aggressive setting to impress the reviewers.
The Bolt isn’t a “long-range” electric vehicle, TTAC should fix that glaring error in the article.
What do you want, coast-to-coast?
Hi I’m Casey Casem. Let me read you our coast-to-coast dedication in a sappy tone.
(Boy there’s an old memory that triggered out of nowhere.)
Young Master, there were days when Casey were all a bloke ‘ad!
‘Struth! And ‘at’s whoy to this dai me radio stays OFF.
And y’know who’s got his job now? Hold onto your Broyhill, it’s Ryan Seacrest.
Ewww… his photos make me smell garlic.
Casey Kasem (/Pedant :-))
Is there some agreed upon industry standard for the term?
It’s just a Tesla fan sneering because it can’t use supercharger stations.
apparently EV buyers are all cross-country furniture delivery people.
Your 300 mi daily trips are really taking its toll on your mental health.
I think you’d fit in better here:
teslamotorsclub.com
If you look at the comments in the i3 post from yesterday you will see he is not a Tesla fan at all.
He is anti-EV unless they apparently come with 500+ mi of range with a 5 minute recharge time.
I’m not anti-EV at all, just anti-mediocrity. EVs need to be more than expensive mediocre crap in order to compete with traditional ICE-powered cars, and this Bolt thing is barely a tiny step in the right direction of EV development.
By being so mediocre, the Bolt mocks the very concept of an EV, which does the future of EVs no favours.
It’s just sad that there are so many Kool-Aid-drinking EV fanbois here, because what GM really needs to hear from potential buyers and automotive enthusiasts is that “The Bolt Is Not Good Enough.” Then it actually may try harder next time, and deliver something that’s worth its place in the market.
Kool-Aod drinking EV fanbois in the B&B of TTAC???
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
They’re about as plentiful as the GM fanbois.
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Also, it’s an amazing critique from and individual who has zero seat time in a Bolt, or the non-existent Model 3 for a comparison. Oh I know, they just know…
Another Silly Dumb F*ck?
@asdf: EVs need to be more than expensive mediocre crap in order to compete with traditional ICE-powered cars
Yeah, right. Corollas, Camrys, and Altimas really set that excitement bar high. Maybe you should try actually driving an EV that you think is mediocre compared to a 4 cylinder with a CVT or a brain-addled 11 speed transmission. If it’s a Leaf, hit the button to take it out of ECO mode. Then come back and we’ll share our kool-aide with you.
Odd – seems more like a comment from a Jkl; person.
“I want something like a Honda Fit, even more efficient, but with the performance of a V6, the smoothness of a V16, and I never want to smell gasoline again.”
“IMPOSSIBLE!”
Nope. ~40K for a penalty box with a faulty ignition switch, air bags that shred you like julienne fries, and an e-comm that spies on you without your authorization. . . , and so on? No thanks.
The whole point is that it’s apparently *not* a penalty box like previous EVs or the prophesied Model 3.
It’s got a little tall and interior volume without flappy doors or an 80K sticker.
And nobody driving anything knows if they’re going to get claymored.
“faulty ignition switch”
nope, it has a button.
“air bags that shred you like julienne fries”
assumes Takata inflators. AFAIK nobody is using AN-based inflators in new vehicle programs.
“e-comm that spies on you without your authorization”
as opposed to Tesla logging all of your driving?
go back to TMC.
You could just remove/disconnect the OnStar antenna or you could put it in a makeshift faraday cage. Don’t know why you’d want to though; the crash safety part of it is very appealing to a frequent remote area road tripper like myself. I want emergency services called whether or not I’m conscious enough to do so myself.
Yep, here there be deer.
So many you’d think the ghost of LBJ had a hand in it.
…AFAIK nobody is using AN-based inflators in new vehicle programs…
Toyota, Mitsubishi and VW are still using AN-based inflators that are on the active recall list in brand new vehicles coming out of the factory. FCA stopped the practice in August 2016.
Toyota agreed to notify customers and have them sign a waiver when buying new vehicles with the recalled airbags in them. VW and Mitsubishi said they don’t love their customers at all.
FCA and Toyota did not voluntarily move to action – but made the changes after the story broke in June 2016 about the continued practice.
I said “new vehicle programs.” e.g. new models just launching now.
Yes, these are new vehicles. As in the factory, they are slapping in a brand new car, an already recalled AN airbag in their 2017 models at Toyota, VW and Mitsubishi. This is not on “used” models being sold at the dealers, or models already shipped.
I didn’t know $29,995 is the same as $40k.
Oh, it doesn’t say Tesla on it, so its gotta be crap that we can make up reasons to hate.
Here is what we know about Tesla.
The $30K Model 3 will be for sale about two weeks, and they won’t really sell any of them. It will be very easy to price one north of $40K with just a few check of the option boxes.
We saw this exact same of irrational hatred when GM was rolling out the new Colorado/Canyon. No one will pay $40K+ for a midsize truck. GM won’t be able to sell any after the initial demand is done. They’ll be pieces of crap.
What has happened is GM sells every Colorado/Canyon they build, and have no difficulty selling the loaded out $40K+ models with less cash on the hood than the alternative fullsizer.
The Toyota Tacoma interior got better, and a rising tide has lifted all boats. Heck, we might get a Ranger again because of the success of midsizers.
If GM forces Tesla to create a valid packaged Model 3 that is really $30K and has a range of say 260 miles to beat the Bolt – everyone wins.
Chevy will also sell you a 35MPG Sonic turbo for half this price. Fifteen grand buys a lot of gas and maintenance.
Living in the land of gas shortages, the second gas shortage in 8 years, I am rather glad to have two differently fueled vehicles in my garage.
ELectric goes out for 2 weeks, drive the gas car. Gas goes out of stock for a week or two, drive the electric car.
It’s not all about saving money in the short term.
Yes, the pipeline shutdown comes to mind, but power plants/grids aren’t entirely immune, either.
I’m not a “prepper”, but owning a Volt seems like a smart play these days.
Wife and I had a 2015 Sonic (non-turbo) as a rental (October 2014) and we were REALLY impressed with it. We had extremely low expectations when we walked up to the black econobox but it surprised us. I liked it better than the Chevy Cruze I had as a rental last year.
I *really* wanted to like the Sonic turbo—I even drove the RS—but I found it seriously gutless around town. A very good highway drive though; it felt heavy, quiet and solid, like a Golf. I’m a fan of hatchbacks that are big inside and small outside, so if not for the Sonic’s cheap, dull paintjob and blocky styling by JC Penney, I’d probably pick it over a Cruze.
My assessment would be the same (non-turbo). Highway dynamics were, for a penalty box on wheels, otherworldly. It was just as you described, it felt heavy, quiet, and very solid. Road noise worked its way in of course and you could hear the “thud thud” of each expansion joint on the highway, but it was never unsettled even at 80 MPH+ and passing power was good.
In the city I found you definitely had to flog the little engine (this was a non-turbo LT) to get out of its own way. It did have competent handling, brakes, and was nimble squirting around traffic – but it did not have “point and shoot” abilities. You definitely drove more defensively so to speak.
I walked away thinking I would buy one of these used as a first car for child number two – they depreciate like rocks.
Electric cars should be cheaper than gas cars as long as the charging situation is less than ideal. Until then, no thanks.
EVs? Who needs them?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-19/first-road-registered-solar-car-under-development-queensland/7858484
It’s most likely under powered.
Define underpowered.
Ask the Vikings for their opinion…