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Most EV Shoppers Unaware Chevy Bolt EV, Bolt EUV Exist, Study Says

The majority of car shoppers in the market for a battery-electric vehicle are unaware the Chevy Bolt EV or Bolt EUV even exist.

Cox Automotive recently published the findings from its 2021 Path to EV Adoption Study, which attempts to provide a look at “the major consumer barriers that continue to slow EV adoption.” The study found that many automakers are struggling to generate consumer awareness for their EV product offerings, as many shoppers don’t know that certain automakers have EVs in their portfolios.

Chevy is among these automakers that have been unable to get the word out about its EV offerings. Cox Automotive found that 69 percent of consumers in the market for a battery-electric vehicle did not know that the Chevy Bolt EV and Chevy Bolt EUV exist. Nissan is experiencing similar problems, with only 37 percent of shoppers aware that the Nissan Leaf EV exists – this despite the fact that the Leaf is the world’s best-selling EV.

Dealers could play an important role in helping to get the word out about EV product offerings. Cox Automotive found that dealers “play a crucial, influential role,” in driving EV adoption, with nearly 80 percent of existing EV owners saying their dealer influenced the purchase decision. This could be an easy way for GM to raise awareness of the Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, as dealers could suggest these vehicles if the customer comes in looking for another small internal combustion engine hatchback or crossover, like the Chevy Sonic or Chevy Trailblazer for example.

At the moment, however, the majority of dealers seem uninterested in selling more EVs. The study found that 71 percent of dealers were “only somewhat,” or “not at all,” prepared to sell more EVs in the future. This could be due to the store investments some automakers require to sell them, which may include on-site vehicle chargers, showroom renovations and upgraded/updated service bays.

Finally, the study also determined the top barriers to entry for EVs among new car buyers: range and price. Many consumers still view EVs as being overpriced and are turned off by their limited usable range and as such, Cox Automotive believes automakers and dealers “would benefit from focusing on those issues as they market their new EVs.” For Chevy, this could mean promoting the Bolt lineup’s relatively low pricing and respectable battery range in its marketing materials more often.

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Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

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Comments

  1. great news. that means they haven’t heard about the battery snafus as well.

    Reply
    1. Lol! Yes, start the marketing once the fire issue is fixed.

      Reply
    2. gm hides it in the closet because it’s so ugly!

      Reply
  2. … at least the shape of this thing is nicer than the funky uglier i3 …

    Reply
    1. MK
      The BMW i3 wasn’t as bad as Mercedes rebadging the Smart Fortwo EV and calling it the B-class

      Reply
      1. — > well Peter
        …… not a fan of Smart shapes… seems a modern doll barbie toy bubbled car some way
        and … worse the shapes or round or oval square do not talk each other … then this hole a top rear bumper

        sincere… Mercedes Benz since a while lost the good Track … mean 10 years … they rescued a bit nice shapes with this Starwars white approach with EQS interior fascia but think the tunnel could be avoided, in an EV car you do not need a huge wall splitting the driver and wife … instead if you had and entire bank like the cas or rescuing a bit the comfortable 1970ies seats would be for me ok… The biggest problem are many design errors at exterior, or too much side windows, outer mirror placed wrong, bumpers, etc … the Smart Fortwo EV is a friction bobby toy for children

        Reply
        1. The real problem is Mercedes put their name on a crappy golf cart type vehicle. With only 50 miles of EV range.

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          1. … as once said peter… we are here not interested in electric cars… neither today… neither yesterday… neither tomorrow… if the golf cart is 3 miles range or 200 or 2000 or 20000 we really do not care… there is no way at home to install cables for that, neither would pay a too high electricity bill — we are here ok with E10… it would be better E85 but the motor is installed we can nothing do— but we still talk about styling of the things

            Reply
  3. Uninspiring, Under Performance, Problematic, and over price to the point Chevrolet don’t Advertise it

    Reply
  4. The article is correct , part of the problem lies with the dealers. They would rather sell you a an ICE pickup for 50-60-70K with a large profit margin that a Bolt EV for 35-40 K .
    Also the service work on an ICE V8c pickup , oil changes and maintenance will keep the service departments workings while the bolt will have significant less maintenance .
    This will start to change when GM rolls out the electric pickup, but the structure has to change for dealers to want to sell more smaller vehicles that are less profitable than a 60k pickup
    This has always been the challenge for Chevy dealers . They never wanted to sell a Sonic , Cruze or other small Chevys as the profit on the sale was small.
    If you look at KIA , Honda , VW , Hyundia etc , they want to sell you a smaller vehicle as that is basically all they offer
    Walk in to a Chevy show room and tell them you want to buy a Trax and see the reaction versus going to Hyundia and offer to buy a Kona .
    Try to buy a Colarado , even before the chip issue this year , most retailers would have had maybe 2-3 pickups , but their may have been 150 FS pickups . Go to the ford store and they have many more Rangers on the lot . Ford must have figured out how to have the dealers sell smaller vehicles
    While the dealers are at fault , GM is also at fault for not setting up their franchises so dealers can sell small vehicles and make a profit.
    This is the same issue for the Bolt, what is the profit for the retailer on the sale

    Reply
    1. Can’t market what you can’t sell or fix the ones that were sold. Needs a new marketing outlook, a super long warranty and better dealer incentives to market them. Maybe go back and put a quota on FS trucks and Corvettes tied to ordering Bolts and the Hybrid/EV’s coming soon.

      Reply
  5. I’ve a ’17 and it’s a great little car. Decent range, handling and performance. I think it would do very well in a comparison standoff against similarly priced EVs – the LEAF, VW ID, Hyundai, Kia, whatever.

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  6. GM has been doing a lousy job of advertising for a while now. No surprise here. They killed the TourX and SS, too.

    Reply
  7. It looks like a cross between a Honda Fit and a Chevy Trailblazer, but it costs as much as a Camaro. GM wanted a car that appealed across continents but didn’t achieve it.

    Reply
    1. Or were they creating a vehicle to appease the hippies???? Just like the GM ev1. With EV adoption stalling, GM isn’t worried. After all, factory 0 was paid for with taxpayer dollars, no money lost.

      Reply
  8. Bolt is a nice rig but far smaller than most people want. GM should shut up with the rhetoric and simply get a decent size stable of EV’s out to the market. Vehicles with large interiors and lots of cargo capacity, and approachable prices for the masses.

    Reply
    1. I never understood why they made two almost identical models… Brings back to mind the typical OLDSMOBUICKS they sold decades ago.

      I’ve owned a 2017 Bolt, but recently traded it in on a 2022 BOLT EUV, just prior to the sales ban… Trade in values too high to resist at the moment…

      I kinda like both, – but prefer the EUV with its larger, higher quality interior, but to me, both ‘stripped’ vehicles had too much unnecessary standard equipment which I don’t want/need/like – and I would think they’d sell far more if they used the savings to cut the MSRP to under $30,000.

      Its rather like the race for president: HAHA – the bar is pretty low….

      We’ll have to wait and see if GM ultimately comes out with some more attractive EVs… Whatever competitor FORD does is probably the biggest driver toward better GM evs. Usually if GM comes out with a good product, they discontinue it soon after the announcement, such as the Caddy ELR, CT6
      PHEV, Volts generation 1 and 2, etcetera.

      Meanwhile TOYOTA will just keep making the Prius Prime, and the very, very nice RAV4 Prime as high-value PHEVs.

      Reply
  9. Alex Luft and the directors of GM Authority, on behalf of us GM fans and supporters. Please make a petition or letter of complaint against GM Marketing. GM’s lack of advertising support for their EVs is beyond horrible and reeks of ineptitude. It wasn’t just product engineering and management that made GM great, it was also masterful marketing!

    Face it, GM’s marketing really sucks.

    Reply
    1. This is my number one complaint with regards to the Camaro. Dodge markers and sells the Challenger and Charger on an ownership experience. Heartbeat of America and Like a Rock were iconic. The last 8 years saw the horrific real people commercials. Yippee

      Reply
      1. You said it! Dodge through their foreign partners believe it or not, respects their own heritage and have done well to keep themselves in the limelight with older platform vehicles. GM on the other hand do not respect their heritage, so they cant market or leverage it properly. Look at how they did the GTO SS and G8…

        Reply
  10. Who is michael luft. The guy who oems gm authority is alex luft.

    Reply
    1. Damn thanks! Should have known that because I have been following him for YEARS. Will edit.

      Reply
  11. Once again, GM M-A-R-K-E-T-I-N-G is a complete disaster.. they know how to market two vehicles: trucks and Cadillacs. Corvettes market themselves.

    Reply
  12. When are the bolt ev going to be for sale again?

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  13. GM doesn’t realize it I am sure, but the only time they make decent decisions is when they are pressured by Competitors..

    Item: Chevy used to state they’d never make an EV Silverado, – then, FORD announces the F-150 Lightning…. Chevy then changed their minds SO FAST it wasn’t funny.

    Item: Ford says they’ll discontinue ICE powertrains by 2030, so GM says the same thing .
    =====>> of course – any company discontinuing ICE entirely who has such a huge customer base of ICE vehicles traditionally, will go out of business.

    When they attempt this, Toyota, and the rest of the Japanese, and Koreans will eat their lunch, and they will be brought back to reality.

    So how much are these Crack Corporate Visionaries paid ?

    Reply
  14. I am very pleased with our 2022 Bolt EUV in spite of the battery snafu.
    And I agree that Chevy could do lots better marketing them, beginning with the attitudes of the dealers.
    We live in a county of over one million population. One huge dealer never has an EV in their showroom, may or may not have one charged to test drive, and quickly wants to talk with customers about other Chevy models.
    Another is much more interested in selling EVs and, prior to the battery recall, would have both Bolt models available to test drive.
    A third dealership, in an outlying suburban town, has usually had some EVs in stock. But their sales force knew little about them. And their finance department was quick to offer a better loan deal on gas powered Chevys.
    I hope you can guess where we purchased our Bolt.
    Also, I offer a personal anecdote. I recently had a slight health problem which caused me to fall in the parking lot of a large medical office complex. Immediately a swarm of at least twenty physicians, nurses, physical therapists and others came running to my assistance. Several remained as the EMTs checked me out, got me upright, and determined it was safe for me to drive home. One of the EMTs offered to move my car closer. He did, and every one of the remaining group bombarded me with questions about our Bolt EUV. None were aware of the model and most said they were not aware of EVs, except for Leaf and Tesla.

    Reply
  15. Here is a serious answer. Here are the reasons people don’t know the Bolt EV exists:

    1. GM never advertised the Bolt EV. And the only advertizment I saw for the Bolt EUV was during Christmas last year and I only saw it once. Yet I have seen many many advertizments for the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq over the past 2 months, but it is not even for sale or being made yet. Only 1500 Lyriq will be made in 2022 and then orders will start back up in Sept 2022 and production for those orders will ramp up starting in January 2023, that is what GM tells me.
    2. GM’s lack of advertizing the Bolt EV fior the past 4 years means they didn’t want to sell them maybe because they are not making money on them. They only want to advertize the ones they will make money on i. e. Cadillac Lyriq.
    3. The current lack of advertizing for the Bolt EV and EUV maybe because of a combination of the fire recalls and the chip shortages.

    Reply
    1. Correct about Bolt. gm not interested in advertising a loss leader. Battery fire crisis killed any need to push Bolts..
      We will see if gm can successfully advertise and market the EVs they will soon be building. Competition will be fierce.

      Reply
  16. We are diehard EV owners and own a Volt and a Bolt EUV, which was hard to locate. Our local dealer could not get one so we had to drive 2 hours to find it at a larger dealership. Still they only had two. We love the EUV and feel lucky to have gotten it. The marketing and dealer support have been slow and it is really too bad. We hope 2022 and 2023 will bring greater support as competition drives the market.

    Reply
    1. Glad you like your Bolt . gm has really bungled the battery fiasco. We are EV advocates but are glad our first purchase was a Tesla. We were not comfortable with gm’s first EV attempt. The Tesla better fit our needs and has been a good but not perfect vehicle. We will be buying another in 2022. Hope gm can succeed in the EV marketplace.

      Reply
  17. The Tesla was marketed like McDonalds. Certainly NOT the best burger, crap really. Same is true of the
    Tesla. We had the new (2021) long range for 6 months and hated it. Poor quality inside and out, plus very distracting and dangerous to drive, not to mention it’s PUNISHING ride over uneven pavement.
    The Bolt EUV in contrast, no comparison. No, it’s not a rocket, but it is very fast on its feet. It’s very quiet, comfortable and smooth riding. It’s quality of fit and finish is superior to Tesla. It only lacks, in real world driving, less than 30 mile less range.

    Reply

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