Chevy does U

Washington Post

General Motors said it will bring a new model of the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle to market at a still undisclosed future date, reversing its decision three months ago to scrap the company’s most popular and affordable EV.

Demand appears to have been key. “We can’t build enough Bolts right now,” chief executive Mary Barra said during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

The vehicle has been a magnet for bringing new buyers to GM, the company said. About 70% of buyers who trade in a vehicle for a Bolt are trading in a non-GM vehicle, the company said.

GM also reported “unexpected delays” in producing battery packs for its lineup of new electric vehicles, saying that a supplier of automated manufacturing equipment has been “struggling with delivery issues.” Production of Ultium battery cells is “ahead of schedule,” but there are delays assembling those cells into packs, also known as modules, GM said.

The company has dispatched GM engineers to the equipment supplier to speed up deliveries and is also assembling more battery packs manually, CEO Barra said. GM built 50,000 electric vehicles in North America in the first half of 2023 and is planning to build roughly 100,000 in the second half, she said.

The company’s EV ramp-up comes amid growing competition and price-cutting in the sector, and amid tense contract talks with the United Auto Workers and the Canadian union, Unifor. UAW leadership has suggested that those talks could lead to strikes if progress isn’t made by the time the current contract expires in September.

“We have a long history of negotiating fair contracts with both unions that reward our employees and support the long-term success of our business. Our goal this time will be no different,” Barra said.

GM will introduce the new Bolt on an “accelerated timeline,” but said it would announce timing and more details, including the manufacturing location, later. Unlike the legacy Bolt, the new model will include “Ultium and Ultifi technologies,” GM said, referring to its newest battery and software products.

GM still intends to stop producing the legacy Bolt at the end of this year at a plant in Lake Orion, Michigan, a spokesman said. GM earlier said that factory would be retooled to produce electric trucks.

The decision to kill the Bolt had disappointed some EV enthusiasts, who lamented the loss of one of the market’s smallest, most affordable EVs. The sticker price starts at $26,500, with the car also qualifying for a $7,500 federal tax credit.

The Bolt has been a rare example of a new car still priced under $30,000 as new vehicles grow more expensive, pricing many U.S. buyers out of the market.

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