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Report: Buick Electric Vehicle Coming Based On Chevrolet Bolt EV

General Motors hasn’t been coy about its plans to spread the Chevrolet Bolt EV‘s wealth around. It plans to use the Bolt EV’s underpinnings for future vehicles, and right now, all signs point to electric cars becoming a de facto source of transportation in the future.

So, what’s next? A Buick battery-electric vehicle, according to InsideEVs.

According to the report, a well-known source participated in a focus group for Buick’s upcoming electric car and it will share it platform and technology with the Bolt EV. However, the exterior and interior design is said to be different. Per the source, some attendees utterly “trashed” the Bolt EV’s design, but found the Buick electric car to look quite good.

“The proportions on the Buick look very similar to an Encore or Trax,” the source said. Additionally, it sported a “premium” and “striking” appearance with a floating roof and aggressive lighting.

Of note, the source also said there are three additional inches of rear legroom. That’s significant since the Bolt EV is already pretty spacious.

The focus group determined the Buick electric vehicle will feature many of the amenities and niceties lacking from the Bolt EV. Better material qualities, an even larger center touchscreen, dashboard stitching and more was referenced by the source. The Buick also lacked a gear selector and instead featured push-buttons akin to what Honda and Acura utilize. All of this will reportedly push the MSRP of the car around $3,000 higher than the Bolt EV.

If the car is just now reaching focus groups, it will likely be awhile before we see more of the electric car. However, what’s been detailed certainly doesn’t seem out of place for Buick.

Former GM Authority staff writer.

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Comments

  1. Buick is the best brand to get a EV CUV. They have the margins and design language to make it a relative success. Hopefully additional battery capacity and performance will become an option after roll out.

    Reply
    1. Agreed. The Bolt’s interior is a bit cheap. They had to hit a price point. With a Buick, I expect premium materials, larger and more comfortable front seats. Those are musts. If they can keep range about the same, I think that is sufficient. Even the Model 3 base pack only yields 220 miles. If they can offer two sizes of packs, even better.

      Reply
    2. Seeing as how it will be a while before production why no additional battery capacity and performance from the start.

      Reply
  2. The Bolt is too short, that is it’s only fundamental problem. At 164″ of length, it’s 13″ shorter than a Volt, 5″ shorter than an Encore, and about 20″ shorter than either Equinox or Tesla Model 3! TWENTY inches.

    I’m glad to hear the rear seat will be 3″ larger. I hope that they don’t steal that space from the cargo area, which on the Bolt is already small and not accommodating to full size suitcases. GM – PLEASE stretch this car for the Buick edition. As much as you possibly can. I’ll be the first to put a deposit down if you do. I’d like something large enough to take my family of four on a long weekend getaway, so it needs to fit 2 large suitcases and a few soft bags.

    Reply
  3. I bet we see this vehicle faster than people think. Look at how fast the Bolt went from rumors, to concept, to production. Concept to production was only around one year. The engineering is pretty much down, just make small differentiations and drop a Buick body on it. Mary Barra was keen to point out the speed at which GM brought Bolt to market. If they are determined to lead the charge on EVs, then I bet the Buick will be out fast.

    Looking at Buick, I think it’s a great outlet for this type of vehicle. Financially, they have the margins to probably break even or even make a small profit if scale economies are met. Looking at the customers, Buick is catering to the attainable luxury market, filled with young professionals and millennials that want to adopt this type of tech, and want a premium vehicle. It should be a hit and a good competitor to Tesla.

    And let’s not forget China’s love for Buicks and shift toward electrics…

    Reply
  4. Will they bring back the name Buick Electra?

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    1. The Buick Electra should be a full size top of the line sedan based on the Volt powertrain although highly modified to fit the luxury car image and performance. With the 2.0 turbo and a smaller, lighter, stronger battery pack to handle the bigger vehicle and provide good performance. It does not need to be a big seller just be just as good or better than the vehicles in it’s class with a comparable price tag.

      Reply
      1. They don’t need a 2.0T in the Volt powertrain. It would actually make it less efficient and heavier

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  5. What the bolt and volt doesn’t need is a performance version of a economy car! Bolt and volt are supposed to be as fuel/electric efficent as possible. Driving fast in these cars should never be a focal point

    Reply
  6. This would be a home run for GM. The first manufacturer to produce an electric crossover or SUV with 200+ range and DC fast charging at a reasonable price will clean up. It’s very disappointing that auto manufacturers have been dragging their feet on bringing something like this to market. Since the Bolt platform exists, GM should not wait until 2019 or 2020 to get this out. My wife and I have each had 2 Volts in the past 6 years and I would buy an electric Encore tomorrow if it existed and was priced at approximately $40k or less.

    Reply
  7. Now GM needs to use the platform and increase the power and range and build a sporty
    four seat convertible. Anyone who has seen the Mercedes Maybach electric concept
    has seen a vehicle that will bury the Model S/3 as woefully unattractive utilitarian cars only a greenie could appreciate.

    Reply
  8. Agree with the larger battery (Ms. Barra referenced 300 mile range in her stockholders presentation). I would STRONGLY urge an AWD option (2 motors) for those of us who live in areas that receive a lot of snow.

    Reply
  9. Must Haves (compared to Bolt): smoother ride; huge reduction in road noise, better vibration damping; acoustic glass and better sealing against wind noise and AWD.

    Upscale interior is nice but not enough.

    Reply

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