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Next-Generation Chevy Bolt Won’t Be A Clean-Sheet Redesign

As reported by GM Authority just a few days ago, a second generation of the all-electric Chevy Bolt EV is on the way due to high demand and popularity. While this may be good news for fans of the affordable EV, it now appears as though the next-gen Bolt EV won’t be an entirely clean-sheet redesign.

During the Q2 2023 earnings report presentation, GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra announced the existence of a future second-gen Chevy Bolt EV, and commented that while the upcoming Bolt EV will utilize GM Ultium battery and Ultium Drive motor technologies, it won’t be entirely new underneath the skin.

Front-three-quarter of 2023 Chevy Bolt EV.

“Our customers love today’s Bolt,” Mary Barra was quoted as saying. “It has been delivering record sales in some of the highest customer satisfaction and loyalty scores in the industry. It’s also an important source of conquest sales for the company and for Chevy, as more than 70 percent of customers are new to GM. We will keep some momentum going by delivering a new Bolt that delivers what customers have come to expect, which is great affordability, range and technology and we will execute it more quickly compared to an all-new program and with significantly lower engineering expense and capital investment by updating the vehicle with Ultium and Ultifi technologies and by applying our Winning with Simplicity discipline. We will have more details to share soon.”

The reasoning behind this decision simply comes down to cost considerations. General Motors is following a “Winning with Simplicity” ideal that strives to reduce design and engineering expense, supplier cost, order complexity, buildable combinations, and manufacturing complexity. Some examples of this in action include The General’s target of reducing trim levels by 50 percent though simplified marketing, engineering and manufacturing.

To this end, Barra claimed that the Ultium technologies costs roughly 40 percent less than the hardware currently found under the Chevy Bolt EV and Chevy Bolt EUV.

As a reminder, the Chevy Bolt EV and Chevy Bolt EUV ride on the GM BEV2 platform, which is a precursor to the more-modern GM BEV3 platform currently found underneath the Cadillac Lyriq and several Bow Tie electric vehicles. Production of the 2023 model year takes place at the GM Lake Orion plant in Michigan, and is currently scheduled to end on November 7th, 2023.

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Comments

  1. Nothing matters if the price is low.

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  2. Where will it be built?

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    1. Should not be China

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    2. I would guess Mexico.

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    3. “We will keep some momentum going by delivering a new Bolt that delivers what customers have come to expect, which is great affordability, range and technology and we will execute it more quickly compared to an all-new program and with significantly lower engineering expense and capital investment ….”

      I am guessing Orion. It will cost a lot less to make it there than retool another plant.

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    4. MICHIGAN WHERE ITS CURRENTLY BUILT

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  3. Whats important is that they support the next platform version they put it on for much longer than they currently support the up thru 2023 BOLTS and VOLTS which are pretty much throw away after 10 years or so assuming no issues. Some of us would love to have a reasonably priced common battery replacement to the i.e. volt. In addition the next bolt should charge much faster on DC and have higher mileage per battery at least as option upgrades one is willing to pay extra for since many can’t afford to own 2 cars. IMHO

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    1. depends on how many they sell if it is worth while for the aftermarket to supply replacement batteries and parts. the aftermarket still sells parts for model T fords

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      1. What exactly is the lame move? I’m struggling to understand what this article is even trying to say. There appears to be no new statements from GM here, and the quotes say exactly what has been know from the first story; that is, the new Bolt will slot into the same market segment, but be built on the Ultium platform.

        It is not a “ground up redesign” insofar that it will use the BEV3 platform, bit that *is* a new platform, and the ability to rapidly deploy new models on it is the whole point of it.

        And it will not be a “ground up redesign” insofar that it will attempt to replicate the essential features of the original bolt, but it is doing so on a new platform.

        What would be news if it was confirmed that – as some suspect – decided to rebadge a vehicle already in the development pipeline as the new Bolt (e.g. if they were going to do a Spark EV or Trax EV, but decided that Bolt being established as an EV badge already gave it more appeal.

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        1. You’ve made up your own definitions and then used them to be critical of the information being delivered. 70% carryover isn’t all-new, it’s more like when the ATS became the CT4. New powertrains and new interior and exterior, but same platform modified to accomodate the new powertrains.

          What this article is saying is that it’s a quick and dirty switch to certain specific Ultium components and mixing them with existing Bolt ones. Up until now, Ultium vehicles had all-new components for almost every aspect of the vehicle. This isn’t that, this IS new information.

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          1. Where are you getting “70% carryover” from? That

            Ultium battery modules are structural components, so you can’t exactly swap that into the existing chassis.

            And so far, Ultium vehicles have *shared* those new components, which are no longer – strictly speaking – new. They already have multiple released vehicles and several more on desk, and more importantly, are now manufacturing and sourcing those components on a scale hitherto unseen in their previous EV efforts.

            What’s more likely? Expending engineering efforts trying to retrofit components into a dead platform, or taking advantage of a platform designed from the beginning to scale across vehicle segments?

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        2. I haven’t seen any quotation about GM using the full Ultium platform, they only said they would use Ultium batteries (not necessarily the standard cells or packs) and Ultium motors. The implication of “not a clean-sheet design” is that it may not be a skateboard, or at least not the standard Ultium skateboard. It is also unclear if it will have all of the battery management or standard drive train design.
          Chevy was always going to sell a Bolt replacement EV, it was just a question whether it would be called Bolt or Trax or something else, and how soon it would come out. I don’t think they wanted to announce it early, to avoid stealing the thunder from the Equinox launch. Maybe what changed is that they think they are on track to solving the material supplies and automation problems in manufacturing Ultium battery packs, and can commit to delivering batteries to a future Bolt. It is interesting that they claim they can save money going with (some) Ultium technologies, up to 40%. Since batteries can cost up to half of the build of an EV, this could result in substantial (20%-ish) savings. Its unclear whether all of that will be passed to customers, since the current Bolt may be losing money — its a loss leader to prepare for a transition to EVs, and it seems to be doing a good job if as many as 70% of the purchasers are not previous GM buyers. I imagine that includes a lot of first-time car buyers like young families, not always conquests from another brand.

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          1. The phrase “not a clean-sheet design” came from the author of this article, not GM. My whole point is that nowhere is this phrase explained or justified.

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            1. I think the relevant quote from Mary Barra is “we will execute [the new Bolt] more quickly compared to an all-new program”. This seems to be all that is meant by the author’s phrase about not a clean-sheet redesign. An all-new program allows a clean-sheet redesign. Since the new Bolt will not be all-new, GM is committing to reuse some parts of the existing Bolt design in the interest of greater speed and lower cost, but battery technology and motors will be reused from some where else, from the existing Ultium technologies (but they didn’t mention reusing the whole Ultium platform, which would require considerably more redesign and tooling).

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              1. You’re soeculating on the meaning though. She said nothing about recycling any BEV2 tech.

                No Ultium vehicle at this point is an “all new program”. Again, the whole point is to leverage shared, reusable components to enable rapid delivery of new vehicles.

                Unless theyve wasted the last five years of design, that should be eaiser than trying to engineer a franken vehicle with half obsolete tech.

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    2. Why are they “throw away after 10 years”? Do you have any data, reasons or even anecdotes to support this? If you just throw out a totally unsupported statement like this it gives you zero credibility.

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      1. @Bruce…its a generality and history of the volts if your following the gen 1 volts which I own….if there was replacement batteries reasonably priced I would replace mine when that time comes but there ARE NONE. Greentech is a mash up of old portions of packs put back together not true replacment batteries. As that source dwindeles down there will be none and I doubt based on todays environment anyone will start producing the T shaped Volt batteries. My volt is 10 years old and I am getting weary of waiting for GM to get the Blazer and Equinox out in volumes. Does that support you enough if not then go read. But I would likey ou to tell me what the heck your doing with your volt if you even own one as soon as that battery craps out!

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  4. Where will the next generation Bolt be built? I understand the Orion plant was being converted to build EV trucks

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    1. Orion is undergoing a $4 billion conversion that- from what I understand- includes an all new body shop, paint shop, and final assembly area. Even after Orion reopened in 2011 it build the Sonic, it had a new paint shop and a lot of room left over from the days of building luxury cars and G6s. In essence they could build both the trucks and Bolts there.

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  5. I DO hope that GM addresses the “shared armrest”…it’s way too close for comfort.

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  6. Les nouvelles concernant la production des Chevy Bolt ne parviennent pas facilement jusqu’en France. C’est dommage car cette voiture semble si intéressante.

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  7. This is kind of a lame move but it can be done somewhat right.

    The two biggest issues with the current Bolt is (DC Fast Charging of only 50kW) which better be 150 kW with the updated Ultium Tech. The second issue is packaging. The Bolt is an ICE vehicle converted so it doesn’t utilize space as well as a pure BEV does. That will unfortunately not be fixed.
    I wonder if they just drop the Bolt and only offer the EUV sized version as the new Bolt. At least that is what I would do if I was GM.

    Also, it hopefully will get a much better interior. Design wise and quality of materials wise.

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    1. I agree that 150KW DC fast charging is a must. I don’t think the Bolt is a converted ICE vehicle though. The motor compartment is way too small for an ICE engine. GM has no ICE vehicle that looks even close to the Bolt.

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    2. The Bolt is not a converted ICE vehicle. It is on GM’s BEV 2 platform.

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    3. The Bolt is not an existing design converted. You cannot put 65 kWh of batteries in an exsiting ICE, there is no room. That’s why conversions like the Ford Focus EV, the Chevy Spark Ev or the VW E-Golf have small range by current standards.

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  8. Use the Volt body! 1000 times better looking!

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    1. I would really love if they did that, but they wont sadly. It would have been awesome for a Volt body on a ultium skateboard platform which would have freed up a lot of interior space.

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  9. I’m just glad they have listened to the customers and will be keeping now. give it some updates, keep is smaller and lower costs to purchase. And for the love of God, DON”T make it into a CUV.

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  10. Just a clarification.

    Chevy Bolt
    Gen-1 : 2017-2021
    Gen-2 : 2022-2023: along with Bolt EUV

    Gen-3 : future based on Ultium platform.
    https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=noform&path=1&year1=2016&year2=2024&make=Chevrolet&baseModel=Bolt%20EV&srchtyp=ymm&rowLimit=50&sortBy=Make&tabView=0&pageno=1

    If they say that its not a clean sheet design, does it mean it will not have frunk and motors will be kept in hood. That may not sell well since so many Chinese made EVs with frunk multiple battery ranges are hitting the market.

    Most important thing is that they should sell worldwide to get the return. Just selling in USA/Can will only end up in big loss.

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    1. My understanding GM is making a killing in limited Brazil market! The suggested price of the 2023 Bolt EUV Premier in the Brazilian market is 279,990 reais, about $56,150 USD at current exchange rates.

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  11. I think the Bolt EV itself is gone, they gonna use a updated version of the Bolt EUV, since its that variant which selling very well. Lets see how it goes, I wanted a fresh new design but it may make more sense to go this route.

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    1. Evo69: This is not a fact, but I think the EUV is only selling better because you can’t get the Super Cruise on the other one nor can you get anything but black interior. The EUV can be ordered with the SC, lighter color seats and some other things like the RedLine package.

      For those who actually research the two, the Bolt EV has the better use of interior space over the EUV. The only place the EUV is better is rear seat legroom.

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      1. The EUV is also better looking than the EV, I would buy the EUV over the EV just for the looks.

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        1. Bruce: Looks of course is all about personal taste. To me, I don’t like the EUV nearly as much. I prefer hot hatches (my personal favorite hatch is the current VW Golf in GTI trim) and the Bolt EV fits that look better. Not only that, but the EUV has wider ugly black plastic wheel opening molding than the other and it has that same unpainted ugly black plastic on the rear bumper extending up from the bottom to where the hatch comes down. So for you and some, you may like the more SUV look. For me and many others, we don’t want that look.

          I have zero problem with others wanting SUV/CUV’s. I have zero problem with manufacturers offering more of them than sedans/cars. What I do have a problem with is those same people telling me and the rest of us who don’t want an SUV that we should just live with it. I don’t like the manufacturers pushing them on me and the rest of us. They can have 1,000 SUV/CUV’s if they want as long as they give us some choices in sedans and hot hatches.

          The next Bolt absolutely should NOT be in any type of SUV/CUV and instead they should offer the new Bolt like the Sonic: In sedan or hatch form. If someone wants an SUV/CUV, they can go choose one of the many others like the Equinox EV, Blazer EV, etc.

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          1. Yeah I like the Bolt EV better based on looks.

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  12. I own a 2021 Bolt and a 2022 EUV BOLT. THe EUV doors feel safer and I love the sun/moon roof my blue leather sits, rear view camera. I could go on and on. The EV is perfect for quick jaunts but driving from San Diego to Los Angeles and back I use my EUV – btw no refills needed! I adore my car.

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