Chevrolet Bolt Will Hit Remaining Dealer Lots in August
General Motors will begin selling the Chevrolet Bolt nationwide in August, a month earlier than it originally planned. While California power nerds like Bill Nye and Steve Wozniak received their EVs months ago, GM’s rollout schedule hinged on dealerships getting their ducks in a row before the rest of America could gain access.
“We were waiting for the training to be done, we were waiting for the right tools to be in place,” Steve Majoros, Chevy’s marketing director, said at a media event. “We are kind of ahead of schedule on implementing all of those things as well as making sure we have enough sufficient inventory.”
Since its December introduction, U.S. deliveries of the Bolt have totaled 6,529 units. That’s not bad for an niche market vehicle temporarily handicapped by regional limitations. May saw 1,566 deliveries and volume is expected to grow as the little electric reaches more areas. Nissan’s Leaf, which is probably the Chevy’s closest competition for the time being, managed to sell 1,392 EVs without the same restrictions.
“It’s this delicate balancing act,” Majoros said. “But we think we’re at the right level of sufficient inventory. We can keep feeding where there’s a stronghold of sales.”
Due to demand, GM was briefly forced to take steps to ensure Bolts sent to certain regions were sold to customers in those regions. According to Automotive News, at least one dealer in Atlanta used a loophole to sources vehicles from California.
Majoros explained that General Motors is preparing a national advertising campaign for the Bolt for the coming weeks — reminding everyone that the car will soon be available for purchase countrywide, now that the auto show afterglow has faded.
Of course, Chevrolet has bestowed the Bolt with a $37,495 starting price, minus the $7,500 federal tax credit, and a 238-mile range. Those two factors create the best price-to-range ratio currently available among pure electrics. That should be more than enough to sell it to anyone shopping for an EV who doesn’t also require the prestige associated with Tesla ownership. But we’ll be on the lookout for the TV spots anyway.
[Image: General Motors]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I'm also interested to see EV winter performance . Not a lot of heavy winter snow in my part of Southern Ontario. We do experience bitter winter cold..Ice storms are common. For my driving requirements an EV would work quite well for me. I'm going to play wait and see...The Ontario government has lowered Hydro rates, as a tool to win the next election. Its just a matter of time until rates sky rocket again...I'll give it a couple of years,and see what plays out.
Does this mean that Chevy will (or has) stopped selling the Volt? I thought about the Volt but my Chevy salesman couldn't tell me how far I could go until the car wouldn't go any more. Is the Bolt a better value than a Prius? Some Toyota fans will get all excite about Toyota quality. I live in the western D.C. suburbs and a trip to a Chevy OR a Toyota dealer leaves me wanting to take a shower.