The 2021 Chevy Bolt EV represents the fifth model year of the first-generation Bolt EV. The small electric car was initially set to receive a mid-cycle enhancement (MCE), otherwise known as a refresh. However, obstacles created by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the updated model to the 2022 model year.
As such, the 2022 Bolt EV is set to enter production this summer, and will be joined by a slightly larger brother, the all-new Bolt EUV. The pair made their official debut on February 14th, with General Motors teaming up with Walt Disney World to welcome the new EV models.
Until then, the Chevy Bolt EV sees a few small changes for the 2021 model year. Here’s exactly what’s new and different about the 2021 Bolt EV.
Model Line
The 2021 Chevy Bolt EV continues with the same trim level structure that it has had since its launch – namely LT and Premier. This will change for the 2022 Bolt EV, as GM Authority was first to report.
Interior
On the inside, the 2021 Chevy Bolt EV sees the deletion of KeyPass, which offered smartphone entry and start operation. For the 2020 model year, this feature was standard on all Bolt EV models.
Additionally, the model also loses the Light Ash Gray with Ceramic White interior color combination, leaving customers with a choice of Dark Galvanized with Sky Cool Gray or Dark Galvanized Gray for the 2021 model year. The Light Ash Gray with Ceramic White interior color combination was available with all exterior color options on both LT and Premier models for the 2020 model year. As GM Authority reported back in 2017, the Light Ash Gray / Ceramic White interior color combination can result in a sun glare that obscures the driver’s view.
Mechanical
The 2021 Chevy Bolt EV makes DC fast charging standard on the Premier trim level. For the 2020 model year, this feature was an option for both LT and Premier models. It remains an option for 2021 Bolt EV LT models.
Otherwise, the 2021 Bolt EV continues to be powered by the same 66 kWh lithium ion battery pack mated to a single electric drive motor, offering a total of 259 miles – or 416 kilometers – on a single charge of the Bolt EV’s 288-cell battery. The 259 mile range is a 21 mile improvement over the 2017-2019 model.
Packages
For the 2021 model year, the Comfort and Convenience Package, which is optional only on the LT model, now requires DC fast charging. The package continues to include the following features:
- Heated driver and front passenger seats
- Automatic heated steering wheel
- 3-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Auto-dimming inside rearview mirror
All of these features are standard on Premier models except for the auto-dimming rearview mirror. This is because Premier models are equipped as standard with an inside rearview auto-dimming mirror that is also the Rear Camera Mirror.
2021 Chevy Bolt EV Availability
The 2021 Chevy Bolt is assembled at the GM Lake Orion plant in Michigan, US. The 2021 model year units entered production in the third quarter of the 2020 calendar year.
2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV refresh
As we mentioned, a refreshed Bolt EV will enter the market for the 2022 model year, and the nameplate is expected to live on at least until the 2024 model year before being replaced with an all-new model, likely with a new nameplate and using the GM Ultium battery system, thereafter.
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Comments
This article incorrectly states the battery is made in Korea, It is actually made in Hazel Park Michigan.
Since when? I’ve heard the battery pack could come from Holland, Michigan or maybe Hazel Park, Michigan or soon maybe Lordstown, Ohio, but I bet the current Bolts still get a whole bunch of stuff for the battery from LG Korea. The last thing Mary Antoinette Barra wants to do is pay U.S. employees and grow the middle class. She wants to shrink the middle class away from her bourgeois cronies, and further the wealth gap between her class and the lowly proletariats.
Mary’s total remuneration was 21 Million dollars in 2019 with over 12 million of that in stock options… she clearly has a vested interest to falsely hype BEVs and pump up stock, while slashing actual production and spending. For comparison Toyota’s CEO, Akio Toyoda, has a total remuneration of around 3 million including stocks.
Ultimately, I feel like lowercase gm has lacked transparency with their BEV program as a whole, p̶r̶o̶b̶a̶b̶l̶y̶ almost certainly with an intent to misinform. It’s absolutely unacceptable that I go into a dealership and they can’t give me an approximate range for the vehicle in below freezing temps. I was told to “go do research on internet forums” umm excuse me? This platform has been out for half a decade and lowercase gm really can’t come up with a straight answer? Are you even trying to sell these cars? I digress…
h4cksaw
A) 32F really isn’t that cold. Since batteries don’t contain water, nothing happens at 32F. At 5F you start seeing big drops in range. Even gas powered vehicles don’t work well at that low a temperature.
B) When Akio Toyoda became CEO. Toyota’s trucks and large SUVs were recently redesigned. Lexus was the largest luxury brand in the U.S. Toyota was the most fuel efficient full line auto brand. Sales were growing. They had 3 brands in the U.S. and their was talk of turning Prius Into a 4th brand. Akio Toyota shouldn’t be getting paid. He should be getting Fired.
Mary Teresa Barra became CEO in 2014. Guided GM through the ignition switch crisis. Then quickly turned the untamed monster that was GM into a lean mean profit machine. Demand is heavy for the trucks, Crossovers & SUVs. Quality is up. Resale values are rising. Stock price is up. The mid-engine Corvette exists, Hummer is coming back, and both are sold out. I would say GM is definitely getting their moneys worth with Mary Teresa Barra.
More false claims.
1) I absolutely guarantee you see a reduction in range when operating a BEV in <32f temps. Do you have any actual statics to back your claim?. I think if the government is going to pour billions into subsidies for BEVs they should probably give us appropriate range, just like an EPA gives city and highway mpg… With heaters and accessory use at varying temps… My gas powered vehicle has no reduction in range in freezing temps or any inconveniences, accept a hard start occasionally due to batteries not working well in the cold.
2)Mary Barra was gifted control of gm with a huge surplus of cash flow after bailouts. She hardly have to lift a finger for about half a decade. Currently she is inflating stock price and decreasing overall sales… Resale value is up because no one wants the lowercase gm cars, making older vehicles more desirable. Corvette and Hummer sales are low volume and trivial. If quality is up explain the third party reviews of the Trailblazer.
3) Funny that you mention demand for trucks and SUVs, you'd think they'd prioritize making those EV's if they were really so worried about the environment. However, I bet people wouldn't buy them, just like no one buys the Bolt. Carbon tax, not BEVs is the answer. Mary is a double talking coward, so I guess she is a perfect CEO in a world where Biden is president.
h4cksaw –
If you live in San Diego then yes, your winter range will be similar to your summer range since a cold day there is 50 deg F.
Where I am in Buffalo, New York all electrics I have owned (6 and counting) have had resistance heaters for the battery coolant and resistance heaters for the cabin heater ‘coolant’.
There are 3 very OBVIOUS reasons why these cars don’t get the range in the wintertime that they do in the summertime:
1). The Battery Heater has to get juice from somewhere.
2). The Electric Cabin Heater has to get juice from somewhere.
3). It is harder to push a car through Slush, Snow and Cold air than it is through hot air, but points 1 and 2 are the big energy hogs.
If you claim you know how electric cars work – perhaps you should learn how Gasoline powered cars work first. The Cabin heater runs off of ‘Free’ Jacket heat. The electric Blower uses almost nothing in added gasoline consumption. The ‘horrid’ efficiency of the gasoline engine that most electric car types are so worried about more than doubles in February due to the huge amount of valuable heat sent to the cabin heater and defroster so that you can see out the windshield.
In case you still have not figured this out – People whose homes are heated with Electric Baseboard Heat have much higher electric bills than those who don’t.
Is the 2021 battery differt from the 2019 battery. Do I need a different garage charging unit for my 2021 over my 2019?
Who do I contact about the 2021 beeeping loudly after only recieving 60 miles worth of electricity using my 2019 charger? It also over heated my cuircit panel and cause the main breaker to flip and it took 10 minutes before it cooled down enough to reset. the whole panel was hot, but the cable from the walll charger was normal.
Jay Krause –
Many questions here – yes the article DID NOT MENTION changes in home charging.. The 2022 cars can now accept home charging rates of 40 amperes or 48 amperes. The 2017-2021 BOLT ev’s have a 32 ampere maximum draw from the home.
You did not mention whether you were trying to use the 2021 Bolt Ev’s 120 volt only occasional use cord, or whether you had a professionally installed wallbox, or whether you have an aftermarket cord and plug, which plugs into (usually) a ‘220’ outlet – the defacto standard is a Range/Stove/RV outlet 4 prong Nema 14-50P plugging into a 14-50R (for receptacle)
Not sure about the beeping part – I’ve set my car up to only give ‘feedback’ when the car is initially plugged in – so is the beeping in your case coming from the car or the wallbox ? (EVSE).
Many of the Range/Stove/RV outlets (Nema 14-50R) are total junk – especially LEVITON brand. I changed out the one in my house to a HUBBELL brand and the prongs of the charging cord/wallbox (4 prong receptacle, and plug) went from being too hot to touch to only luke-warm – and this after running a test on each at 32 amperes each for one hour.
The 120/240 ‘occasional use cord’ – optional in the 2022 Bolt EV but standard in the 2022 Bolt EUV, is actually quite a good product – it having temperature sensors in both the ‘charging brick, and the attachment plug – which will shut down or taper if trouble.
So firstly, please specify what facility you are using when you have all the trouble.
Horse and buggy is more environmental than a toxic battery that has to be replaced every 100,000 miles for $15,000.
Why don’t liberals want to be green and gr$$n?
and you can eat a horse when it breaks down. can’t do that with an EV!!!
Vegans would starve, even better!
So gasoline is safe for the environment according to Melania’S logic?
Correct. Though safe isn’t the word you’re looking for. Long term sustainability of current battery tech doesn’t really seem any more promising then small displacement, economical gasoline engines.
The advancements in technology over the next ten years are going to absolutely blow your mind. Don’t let today’s technology mislead you. Life as you know it is going to completely change in a short period of time. I advise you be open-minded and flexible over these coming years.
Sounds like more empty leftist promises, just like Joe made. How’s that healthcare? How about those human rights issues at the border? Nothings changed.
You are a very, very closed-minded individual.
Just because I’m skeptical doesn’t by definition make me close-minded. I’m sorry if a don’t blindly believe claims made by the for profit battery companies and some random people on reddit about some battery breakthrough. Battery tech has stayed relatively the same for decades. Show me the evidence that batteries are sustainable and practical and I’ll become less skeptical.
You’re assuming that Melania has logic.
Melania just loves Hydrogen powered vehicles – which the handwriting is on the wall for them, at least in North America.
Hydrogen is always ’50 years in the future’ – and will be for another 50…. You’ll have to wait that long for fourth generation Nuclear Plants to make the Hydrogen basically free directly by dissociating water – without going through the inefficient electric hydrolysis route.
I really don’t see why she always goes off half crocked about this stuff.
I bought Electric cars (I’m on my 6th) since I fully intended to power them with American Mined Coal.
Unfortunately, my Blue State New York banned the three local Coal Fired power plants in my area – and of course, prohibit new, more modern ones that are even more efficient, because they make too much Plant Food, and Formaldehyde-Free Drywall – unlike that Chinese Crap Lowe’s used to sell which turned all the copper pipes and wiring in a house black and made everyone sick.
Melania Hilton
Green is also the color of money. Republicans want to give that money to a few old rich white guys, in the form of tax breaks. Then have the government borrow the money, so the few rich white guys can make more money charging interest.
So why are Dems giving BEV rebates to “old rich white guys”? The Dems have been giving far far more subsidies and tax breaks to “old rich white guys” the past few election cycles.
Melonia: –
In the early 20th century – Gasoline vehicles were the Environmental vehicle of choice in big cities due to the elimination of Horse Feces…. In case you have never actually been around horses – I have news for you… They all “Eat like a Horse”, and getting rid of their ‘effluent’ – along with the ‘invention/rediscovery’ of Sanitary Sewers increased American’s Life Span more than ANY medical advance – normally about 20 years added life.
Finally an article on a 2021 Bolt. Most 2022 models will be arriving at dealerships in a few months. Great timing.