General Motors unveils the tiny Bolt EUV

In January 2021, GM announced its vision to switch to fully electric by 2035. It has recently taken another step by coming up with the Bolt EUV. The company rolled out the newest version of the Chevrolet Bolt EV, a five-door hatchback that it has been selling for four years and the only all-electric vehicle it now sells in North America. But the market has been moving away from cars and strongly toward SUVs for the last several years. So it was essential for GM to have an SUV version of the Bolt.

Therefore GM formally unveiled what it is calling the Chevrolet Bolt EUV for Electric Utility Vehicle. But the difference between the Bolt EV hatchback and the Bolt EUV SUV is minimal, a three-inch longer wheelbase, a six-inch longer overall length, and only 2/10th of an inch higher.
The Bolt EUV doesn't have all-wheel drive, a standard feature on SUVs; although the GM executives said the EUV has SUV proportions, it has SUV styling, said Jesse Ortega, the chief engineer of the two Bolts. "I wouldn't buy into idea it has to have four-wheel drive to be an SUV."
Both Bolts will go into production in the late spring and are due in showrooms by the early summer. It's not the only EV that GM has plans to unveil in the US market this year; an electric Hummer truck and the Cadillac Lyriq are also due in showrooms. The Lyriq is expected to go into production later in the first quarter, while the Hummer is scheduled to be available in the late fall.

According to Steve Majoros, vice president of marketing for Chevrolet, Bolt has its customer; it has the industry's highest customer satisfaction rates. And its US sales increased 26% last year when GM's overall US sales fell by 12%. But its sales still make up less than 1% of GM's US sales overall. Only about 1,300 of 3,000 US Chevy dealers offer the Bolt.
The rollout could be due to computer chip shortages that have forced GM to temporarily halt production at several plants for at least a month. It is an industry-wide problem. GM uses the chips it can get to build its most profitable vehicles, large SUVs and pickups. When asked if that means the two Bolts could be affected by the chip shortage, Majoros said launch products are critical as well. But he also conceded that they are going to do what is right for their business of EVs.

GM's cars have the disadvantage that unlike almost all of its rivals, its US buyers won't get a $7,500 tax credit for buying one of its electric cars. Tesla is the only other automaker that has sold so many EVs to US buyers that its customers no longer get the tax credit. So GM has had to price the Bolt EV and EUV well below the prices of its rivals. The starting price of a Ford Mach E is about $43,000, while the Bolt EUV starting price will be about $34,000.

The new Bolt EV will be $32,000, which is about $5,000 less than the pricing of the current EV. And it is offering a number of features to attract buyers, including the GM Super Cruise hands-free driving feature, which has never been offered on a Chevy, only GM's more expensive brands, before now. GM will also pay for standard installation of the electrical equipment needed for faster charging capability in most customers' homes.

GM unveils its next ‘big’ electric vehicle: The tiny Bolt www.salten.cz/2021/02/14/gm-unveils-its-next-big-electric-vehicle-the-tiny-bolt-euv/