Barring any unforeseen hiccups, General Motors will be the first automaker to enter the U.S. market with an electric vehicle that costs less than $40,000 and gets over 200 miles of range. Specifically, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will return 238 miles of range on a single charge, and cost under $30,000 after federal tax credits.
And GM is right on schedule to deliver the first production Chevrolet Bolt EVs by the end of this year. Reuters reports GM has officially fired up production at the Orion assembly plant, where the Bolt EV is being assembled alongside the Chevrolet Sonic. Flexibility will allow the assembly plant to build either vehicle, depending on how consumers take to the Bolt EV.
Currently, the report states “every fourth or fifth car on the line” is a Bolt EV.
The first 2017 Bolt EVs will reach the west coast in California and Oregon markets, where customers have successfully begun placing orders. A nationwide rollout is expected next year, along with availability with ride-sharing service Lyft, and car-sharing service, Maven.
Comments
I had no idea that they could build 2 different cars at the same time. That is what impressed me most about the linked article. I always assumed that they would have to stop production and swap over to make a different car. Not that they could make the two different cars at the same time.
GM has many plants that can produce several vehicle models at the same time. The Detroit-Hamtramck plant produces the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Volt, and the future Opel Ampera-e all on the same assembly line every hour.
I live in Mich. Why is GM making us Michiganders wait for our Chevy Bolt ?