Chevrolet Will Officially Keep ‘Bolt’ Name For Upcoming EV

Believe it or not, the Chevrolet Bolt will make into production wearing the controversially confusing ‘Bolt’ moniker. That’s not hearsay, or conjecture, either. It’s straight from the mouth of Chevy marketing boss Tim Mahoney.

“The decision is made. The name won’t be changed,” he told USA Today. 

He went on to say that there are “synergies” between the similarly-sounding Volt and Bolt names and that the association between the two, “connotes good things.”

Also, GM is perfectly aware that the names are confusing, but that “can be an advantage,” Mahoney said, noting that “association with Chevrolet is nearly immediate,” because the Volt is now a well-known vehicle.

To be clear, this announcement pretty much flies in the face of what we’ve heard from GM execs up until this point.

Back in January, GM Executive Vice President, Global Product Development, Mark Reuss noted that the names could be a bit too confusing for customers. Heck, even GM North America president Alan Batey suggested the name might be a temporary place holder.

We even gauged your opinions on the subject back in January, and a majority of voters (59 percent) wanted to see the name changed, while 27 percent thought the name should stick. A further 13 percent thought GM should name the car ‘EV2’.

As the venerable Jimi Hendrix once said: “is this love, or is it just confusion?” Regardless of the name, the Chevrolet Bolt promises 200 miles of electric range with a price tag of around $30,000 after tax breaks.