2021 Chevy Bolt EV Premier Gains Fast Charging As Standard
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The 2021 Chevy Bolt EV comes standard with DC Fast Charge (480 volt) capabilities, GM Authority has learned. The Fast Charge capabilities are standard only on the range-topping Premier trim level, while the 2021 Chevy Bolt EV LT trim level offers DC Fast Charging as an available option.
This is a significant change when compared to the previous 2020 model year, which offered DC Fast Charging as an available option on both the LT trim and the Premier trim.
Level 1 (120 volt) and Level 2 (240 volt) charging capabilities are standard across the line for both the 2021 Chevy Bolt EV and the 2020 Chevy Bolt EV.
| 2020 Bolt EV LT | 2020 Bolt EV Premier | 2021 Bolt EV LT | 2021 Bolt EV Premier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 (120 V): | S | S | S | S |
| Level 2 (240 V): | S | S | S | S |
| DC Fast Charge (480 V): | A | A | A | S |
The 2021 Chevy Bolt EV was originally slated to introduce a refresh for the nameplate, including a new trim level structure, new front and rear fascias, a redesigned interior, and new seats.
However, as a result of delays incurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bolt refresh will instead arrive for the 2022 model year. When it does, the new trim level structure will include the 1LT and 2LT equipment groups, marking the first trim level restructure for the Bolt EV since it first went on sale for the 2017 model year.
The 2022 Chevy Bolt EV is set to hit production in the summer of 2021 calendar year. At that time, Chevrolet will also have unveiled the Chevy Bolt EUV, a new crossover based on the same GM BEVII platform, with production taking place at General Motors’ Lake Orio Assembly plant in Michigan.
It’s also believed that both vehicles will come with the same powertrain. The current Chevy Bolt EV is powered by a 66-kWh lithium-ion battery, which provides electricity to an electric motor turning out 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque. Range is rated at roughly 259 miles per charge.
How important is standard DC Fast Charging for the 2021 Chevy Bolt EV? Let us know in the comments, and subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet Bolt EV news, Chevrolet news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
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Such an ugly car, no wonder GM is getting out of sedan market.
I have a 2019 loaded LT and I have not used the Level 3 one time. I almost felt that I had to buy the Level 3 in order to ever resell the car. The place I work at has free Level 2 charging and I use it once every week or two depending on the outside temps. I’m not sure if there is another EV on the market that doesn’t deliver with a Level 3 in the normal price? Seems like a GM hustling the customer thing.
I’ve never used the DC fast charger on my Bolt. Of course around here there are very few places to actually use it. If there were more places, I would consider using the Bolt for longer distances.
Such a beautiful car. This is definitely the future. So glad GM hit this one out of the park. I bought my daughter one and she absolutely loves it. Lucky her my GM vehicle is a Silverado 3500 diesel. It takes a lot of fuel and money to run it. Thank God she lets me borrow it when I like
It may be a good car, a competent car, but it is not beautiful by a long shot.
I feel like someone at GM saw my Take on here that it is absolutely insane that it is not Standard HAHA
The infrastructure for DC charging needs to to be supercharged as well… I had to stop at 3 places to find 1 charger that works. Customer service for 1 of the charging stations said they knew their chargers have been inoperational for 2 months, and apologized for the inconveniences.
When I was shopping for my Bolt in 2016, a local dealer was in the process of ordering their Bolt shipment. The dealer told me that they would not be ordering any Bolts with DC Fast charging. I told them that they needed to rethink that decision. I purchased my first Bolt from another dealer with DC Fast charging and stopped at the local dealer. The local dealer acknowledged that they had made a mistake in not ordering DC Fast charging equipped Bolts. I now own 2 Bolts and that local dealer now only orders their Bolts with the fast charge option!
That’s great news for me since I’m waiting for the order window on the 8th Oct to open. Still confused about the 2021 model upgrade. It’s getting a front/read fascia upgrade and cabin upgrade too, isn’t it?
Great peppy car with amazing reliability.
Comfortable, secure, and easy fast charging.
I have the Chevy Bolt Premium 2018.
Lipstick on a pig.
GM should have at least one DC charging station on their property. Level 1&2 charging don’t help when you’re traveling for six or more hours, and your looking to Fast Charge. Most city have a chevy dealer, why not have one for your customers.
When GM puts Gasoline stations on their property for the cars which use gasoline, then I’d agree they should have fast charger(S) for the electric products.
When at a dealership, I want the DEALER to give me a low-cost DEAL, and I surely do *NOT* want to increase his overhead with fast chargers – unless through rental products where the customer is dinged for not returning the car with the same level of charge – analogous to the way a customer is charged a fine for bringing a gasoline-powered Rental back with insufficient gasoline. Of course, most dealerships will handle this ‘slight’ amount of additional charge with the Level 2 facilities most already have.
So other than as a profit center where a dealer feels they can profit by having a fast charger or two, I see no reason why the dealer should be forced into the refueling business, unless the dealership themselves feel they want to.
The key fact here is – to the astonishment of most ev owners – is the operating cost of almost all fast chargers is horrendously high…..
1). The Volkswagen BONANZA, paying for all the huge EA chargers, is a one time deal.
2). Tesla has a huge fast charging network, due to the Inertial Aggrandizement of Tesla’s Stock Price. Building more Supercharger Facilities helps sell more cars but more importantly INCREASES THE STOCK PRICE – so it doesn’t MATTER how much it costs to build or run a supercharger.
I have a Spark, the cheapest EV you could ever buy. It came with DC fast charging standard equipment.
Unfortunately, the Spark EV is available only in limited markets.
Is good news that GM ,Partnership with EV GO for more DC charging stations. Now I know i shouldn’t have problems driving to NY,from FL, with out the use of the autotrain
So something that was an option last year is now standard this year. And this is big news? How much did they jack up the price of the model on which it comes standard?
James, it is big news since any Electric Vehicle News out of GM for products to be sold in the USA is few and far between….
We are like the family dog at the dinner table begging for a few crumbs worth of news from tight-lipped GM.
Ok, thanks for that tidbit. I’m still curious how much more are they charging for this standard upgrade? $750??? LOL
As far as I know James… Perhaps the self-appointed big experts who downvoted my thoughtful comment without refuting anything I said can give you a more intelligent answer than I can.
You get a few things for your hard-earned $750 – > A locking CCS type 1 facility (which is not required for Level 1 or 2), a heavy wiring harness, and connectors to the high voltage box, and an extra contactor. But, agreed, there is some happiness in the price.
On the other hand, Dual chargers (an additional 9.6 kw) for the Tesla ‘S’ years ago was a $1,500 option, or $2.500 if installed afterwards
Chevy bolt is still quite expensive in Canada but if it was offered with 0% financing I’d jump on it!
If you can put down a big down payment, it’s possible to obtain a sub-$200 monthly lease payment.
iRon, but that makes no sense. Why not just keep that large chunk of change yourself and pay higher payments. The goal of a lease is to pay as little upfront as possible and yet minimize the total cost overall as well.
James, what you suggest was my strategy for the past 30 years; I leased all my cars and stayed with the same make (VW) to avoid extra charges and receive all the loyalty benefits. My last four cars I never put more than 1k down. Now I’m switching manufacturers. I have money saved up and can afford to put up about half of the cost of the negotiated price that will leave me with a ridiculously low monthly lease bill. Most credit unions offer low interest loans that, if used in combination with the lease, might be less expensive than the lease alone. IMO, it simply comes down to whether you’re a saver or a spender, and whether your regular income is sufficient to support a high monthly lease.
From the article, DC fast charging IS NOT STANDARD on all trim levels so your article title and claim is not correct. If DC fast charging was standard throughout the trim levels then it would be STANDARD.
What about the title of this article, “2021 Chevy Bolt EV Premier Gains Fast Charging As Standard” is incorrect or misleading?
iRon, the article is absolutely correct and honest…. The upscale Premier trim INCLUDES the $750 fast charging option. I’m perfectly fine with that.
On the barebones LT trim, it is still optional –> Good for people like me who would rather save the $750. I bought the first BOLT ev in Western NY State in Feb 2017 and have never missed not having the fast charger option.
Toyota does an analogous thing with the RAV4 PRIME – the low-cost trim gets a 3.3 kw charger (6 hour recharge time), and the upscale trims get 6.6 kw (3 hour recharge time).
My 2019 Volt Premier has a 7.6 kw charger (same as all Bolt evs), whereas the 2016-2018 volts and the 2019 LT had 3.6 kw standard.
Supposedly an 11.5 kw unit is to be ‘available’ for the 2022 BOLT EUV, – hopefully as an optional extra, as most ev owners have wired their garages for 7 kw charging maximum, also the limitation at the vast majority of public charging docking stations.
I’m sure they are offering the 48 ampere charging facility as a ‘me-too !!’ feature since the upscale Teslas and Ford EVs will all have this size charging facility, but some people just don’t need it, and since they already have in the parts bin a 32 ampere unit for the BOLT ev, it is a no cost manufacturing decision to also offer it as a lower cost BOLT EUV basic trim product.
After all, the battery is no larger (at 66 kwh when new) than the Bolt ev, and therefore the 32 ampere unit will not charge a completely dead battery any slower in the BOLT EUV… Of course with its larger size and crappier mileage, the EUV battery will be dead more often, so I suppose it makes sense to offer the 48 ampere facility for those who want it.
I like the fact that manufacturers give the buying public, namely ME, a choice. What some people on this blog ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO HAVE, the rest of us don’t need nor want, and would much rather have the opportunity to save the cash.
Actually i concede that you are correct. I did not see the work ‘premier’ in the article title until now.
Danwat1234 –
If you are splitting hairs this finely, you must be retired and looking for something to do.
For about 70 years there have been brochures listing things as Not available, optional, or standard, depending on the trim level of all kinds of different products – Home HiFi equipment, TV sets, Dishwashers, and motor vehicles included.
The title plainly states the PREMIER trim level includes DC Fast Charging as Standard – just relaying common information the same way as everyone did when you were a child.
Please don’t get upset at the Sun shining on you, or get excessively worried about all the Cats that did not get stuck in their respective Trees today.
I just met a guy in a coffee shop who was complaining for over a half hour that the Dodge Van he bought was not in perfect condition….
I finally asked him… “How much did you pay for this fine vehicle? “. He said, “$100”.
I said, “NO Comment”.
Danwat1234:
What I typed before was what GM had released – but now they have released further information so I have to modify my comments slightly – so here goes:
I had said the 48 ampere Level II charger was going to be possibly optionally available on the BOLT EUV. GM has clarified this to state that all 2022 BOLTS, the EV and EUV, will get a 48 ampere charger on the car STANDARD, a no-cost upgrade from the 2017-2021 BOLT ev’s (and 2019 Volt Premier’s) standard 32 ampere 7.6 kw car charger.
The Bolt EV will get the Level 1 – 8 or 12 ampere ‘occasional use cord’ as standard. The Bolt EUV will get a more expensive ‘occasional use cord’ that will charge the car at ‘up to’ 30-32 amperes at 240 volts. Level 1 (‘110 plug’) will presumably still be at 12 amperes maximum – but that is just my guess.
For another few months GM will also provide a free ‘easy’ typical installation of a Nema 14-50 receptacle in your garage or car port to use this more expensive cord – for purchasers who have bought this – which includes all EUV purchasers, and also those who bought a Bolt EV with the optional 240 volt occasional use cord. This brings plenty of questions in and of itself – especially since this ‘free installation’ program is due to be discontinued prior to the date any of the 2022’s actually are for sale; as well as how much will GM actually fork over on a ‘difficult’ or costly installation… And then for most ev drivers who already have these receptacles in their homes – will GM offer another sweetener such as free fast charging for 5000 miles or some similar freebee?
I already said that it is misleading because fast charging is not standard. It is only standard on the top trim. I don’t think most people will buy a fully loaded Bolt.
If it’s standard on all trim levels then it is standard. Standard standard standard standard standard, understand.
Just as a note DC fast charging on the Bolt EV is not 480VDC. Fully depleted is about ~310V and fully charged about ~400VDC with a nominal pack voltage of ~360VDC.
If would be nice if the Bolt had a AWD option
Or at least a limited slip differential.
TBH, the only GM car I would buy right now is the new C8. … The only modern car that is APPRECIATING in price.
Where is the 240 volt charger, just bought a Bolt premier edition and the only charger that was in the car is the 120 volt?
The 120/240 volt charger is in the MOTOR compartment. The ‘occasional use cord’ included with the car is the 8 or 12 ampere 120 volt cord…
You have to purchase your own 240 volt ‘charging cord’ yourself. The Wallbox version from GM is $599 plus tax, but you can pick up a cheaper one on EBAY for around $350-400 – or if you don’t want to spend hardly any money at all, you can use the included ‘occasional use cord’ by having a friend make up an adapter cord to plug the thing into a 240 volt outlet, giving you 2.8 kw rather than 1.4 (doubles the 120 volt charging speed). I wouldn’t just chop off the 110 volt plug off the thing since that is where the temperature overheat safety shutdown is.
What everybody calls the ‘charger’ whether a cord type or a wallbox type, is really just a fancy overpriced light switch.
If I’m reading your question correctly, the Premier trim model comes with Level 2 charging *capability*, but only comes with a 110v EVSE plug. To charge your car overnight, you need a 240v outlet and an EVSE Level 2 charging cable, such as the MUSTART Level 2 Portable EV Charger that you can buy from Amazon.
Amazon Stuff is all overpriced… I’d look elsewhere – as a for instance – EBAY (dot com).. All 2021 Bolt EV’s have 32 ampere capable chargers. All 2022 Bolt EVs and EUVs have 48 ampere capable chargers, as does the FORD Mach-E, and anything other than the most barebones Tesla.