Nuked General Motors unveiled two new versions of the bolt on Sunday. An updated bolt EV hatchback with longer range and new high-tech features. The brand new bolt EUV – essentially a compact SUV – with more legroom room and less range than the bolt EV.
The refreshed bolt EV will sell for $ 31,995 – about $ 5,000 less than the current model year bolt EV. A limited-edition’launch’ version will be available for $ 43,495.
Chevy bolt was intended to be General Motors’ first stab at a mass-market, purely battery-electric vehicle with 200-plus miles of range and an affordable price tag. Sales have been anemic since the release of the Tesla Model 3 in 2018, which has come to dominate the market in the US and abroad.
Both the bolt EV and bolt EUV will be built on GM’s bev2 platform. The newly unveiled Cadillac lyriq and the GMC Hummer EV will be the first vehicles built on this new architecture.
The bolt EV and EUV are the first non-cadillac vehicles and first electric vehicles to have super cruise. Both versions of the bolt will come with Super cruise, the’hands-free’ advanced driver assist system that previously has only been available in Cadillac vehicles.
When it was first introduced five years ago, the automaker was still eligible for the federal government’s $ 7,500 tax credit. In 2019, GM sold its 200,000th EV in the US, triggering a phase out of the tax credit.
The original 2018 bolt had 238 miles of range, but got less due to cold weather or other factors. The slightly heavier bolt EUV will have 250 miles on a single charge. Neither vehicles’ range has yet been certified by us or European regulators.
Last year, General Motors was forced to recall over 68,000 Chevy bolts manufactured between 2017-2019. The bolt’s battery is’prone to burst into flames’.
The new bolts use a different battery chemistry that will help prevent future incidents. The automaker increased the range from 238 miles to 250 miles.
Both versions of the bolt come with a single-motor drive unit that can deliver 200 horsepower thanks to 150 kW of power. The new bolts will have regenerative braking and a one-pedal driving mode that is fairly common among EVs today.
The EUV is approximately 6 inches longer and will have about 3 inches of extra rear legroom than the bolt EV. No exterior sheet metal parts are shared between the two vehicles.
Chevy is keeping small ventilation panel rather than embrace the completely flat front-end of other EVs like the Tesla Model 3. Chevy is swapping the dual-tone look of the previous bolt with a more monochromatic fascia.
Chevy has ripped out the bolt EV and EUV’s oft-criticized seats and replaced them with seats that feature a triangular geometric pattern and contrasting color stitching. The automaker claims it is a’premium design that gives a consistent and upscale atmosphere’.
The main 10.2-inch infotainment screen is still embedded in the center console. Chevy swapped out the gear shift for a series of electronic buttons to free up more space. There’s also a new one-pedal driving button that keeps the system active between drive cycles cycles.
Gm’s Super cruise assisted driving system uses cameras, radar, and mapping data to allow drivers to drive hands-free on divided highways. The bolt EV and bolt EUV will only come with the standard version of Super cruise, not the enhanced version that includes automatic lane-changing.
The changeable plug allows customers to plug into a 120-volt three-prong outlet for level 1 charging. Both vehicles are also capable of 11 kW level 2 charging, but separate charging equipment is required.
Anyone who buys or leases a bolt EUV or bolt EV will get free installation of a charger in their home through a partnership with qmerit. For charging on the go, GM is partnering with public charging station operator eVgo to include over 80,000 public chargers in the my Chevrolet app.
Plugged into a 240-volt outlet will get the bolt to a full charge in seven hours. A DC fast charger will add up to 100 miles in 30 minutes for both vehicles.
Chevy wanted to ensure the bolt stayed affordable even as it added new features, like Super cruise, or leveled up to crossover status. Keeping the price low will help spur EV adoption from its current status of only 2 percent of us sales to upwards of 15-20 percent of the overall car market.
