In a rather unusual design choice by GM, the all-new 2024 Chevy Equinox EV crossover does not include a smartphone charger as either a standard feature or an option on any trim level or model.
This omission of this feature on the 2024 Chevy Equinox EV is an even stranger one, given that most currently produced vehicles across all automakers and brands either include a wireless charger as standard or at least allow it to be optioned at extra charge.
Interestingly, as can be seen in the image above, there’s a cutout in the shape of a phone at the very front of the tray in the vehicle’s center console. This cutout would be a convenient place for an inductive charging pad to enable phone charging in the Chevy Equinox EV.
However, at this point, there is no charging pad in the cutout; it is simply a handy recess to keep a phone from slipping onto the floor. The General might opt to turn this spot into a charger in some future Equinox EV model year.
GM Authority Executive Editor Alex Luft asked GM product managers questions about why the cutout was not used as a charger. The managers informed him that this was one of the methods of product differentiation chosen by General Motors to distinguish the 2024 Chevy Equinox EV from its bigger brother, the Chevy Blazer EV.
The Blazer EV is, in fact, equipped as standard with a wireless charging pad for smartphones, along with several other key features. Even the small, affordable 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV included a smartphone charger as standard, while the technology could be optioned on the 2LT trim of the 2023 Chevy Bolt EV.
It’s still possible to charge a smartphone in the 2024 Chevy Equinox EV, but it’s necessary to connect it via USB. Front-seat passengers can use two USB ports located to the left of the cupholders in the front center console area. These ports also offer a data connection. Two more charging-only USB ports are located in the back of the console for rear-seat passengers to use.
You can see the part in question at approximately the 10:50 mark in the following video, which provides an in-depth hands-on tour of the 2024 Equinox EV’s interior:
As a reminder, the Chevy Equinox EV is supported by the GM BEV3 platform, while production takes place at the GM Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico.
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Comments
Other than the larger screen the interior is very similar to my son’s new Blazer RS. SImilar in materials and some of the contolds. I would like to see the Blazer vent controls on the center of the dash like the Blazer. Turning the ring on them for temp control was a genius move.
The thing with this EV is to keep it like a real regular car. Nothing goofy like Tesla just for shock value and also to keep the price down.
I do hare the outside door handles. They are Tesla goofy. In a pouring rain I can see people reaching before it extends as they run to the car. Also just something more to break. Think not I have fixed enough C6 door handles that stopped working.
Nothing goofy like Tesla.. ?? Better goofy Tesla than over priced Chevy.
You have not tried a Tesla have you? After a day you notice the regen is dialed in and one pedal driving is perfect to use. The speed is addictive and the car feels light and nimble. The things on the screen work, just like a smart phone. Do you still use a corded push button phone? Unlike so many other cars whose software is slow, buggy and continues to under deliver, Tesla’s software, charge speed and charge network work. Why is GM’s charge speed so poor compared to the competition. In fact its so bad it makes traveling hard. Why is there no NACS connector on the car? They may sell 100,000 of these but compared to a Tesla they are second class.
I have and have not been impressed by any of their models. Poor materials. Odd things like vans with glass roof and no shields and doors that hang up.
This model here will undercut Tesla price and is about the price of a ICE model. It is not some odd type car that most could adapt to easily.
I have the bolt recall and sent back. The Blazer has already had a major recall. And the price of the model Y RWD is currently about 35K after fed rebate. My doors have worked in -20 below so I am not sure what you are yaking about. >>This model here will undercut Tesla price and is about the price << Eventually and maybe. The Blazer was supposed to be sold for about 8K less than its selling for. As far as what you call ODD , I have driven over 1700 miles round trip in with no issues or complaints. It just works. and FSD has gotten to be really good. Have fun living in yesteryear. The charge speed is crap for traveling. Its so old school and disappointing. I bet over the air updates still can not be done.
Its acceleration is poor. Oh and FWD EV's make ya ill. RWD pushes and feels right. FWD is a cheap way to put the drive train in the front but feels offer on acceleration.
Keep drinking the Koolaid.
I drive by a Tesla service center and there are plenty of their cars sitting there waiting for work or getting work done. They sell no cars on property but yet they have as many cars as a Chevy dealer with unsold car.
Look none of these are perfect including Tesla. They are still a work in progress and Tesla while it may have good point it also is a reeking mess in other areas.
I just hope GM and the others get this stuff sorted out before it is forced on us in 10 years, We are coming up on 2035 and we may have few choices.
“Look none of these are perfect including Tesla. ” Totally agree.
Here is why I am so disappointed. GM has been a car maker for a long time. I have owned
5 or more GM cars and drove them to death. Buicks, Pontiacs and Chevys.
Their not making a superior product with all their expertise and engineering is extremely disappointing. Maybe they need to do some serious firing in management and elsewhere to stop them from making mediocre EV’s. They didn’t take the Japanese seriously until they declared bankruptcy. I don’t want that for them or any American automaker again. The Chinese are coming one way or the other. They will build in Mexico and ship here. Is GM going to be ready?
@Bob
Completely in agreement.
I have been stating the same here for years. I fear that some (not just ICE customers) within GM itself are still not taking this monumental shift to BEV’s all that seriously.
The Blazer and Nox absolutely should not come with a measly 150kW charging speed.
Tesla had that 7 years ago.
China is coming and as of right now Tesla is barely competing let along GM.
Zeeker can charge at 500kW and is cheaper than a Cadillac so yeah I am sure when these are sold here, the 150kW charging of the Optiq will suffice.
I want as many Legacy Automakers to survive this shift as possible. Especially the Detroit Big Three. What GM needs to undertand is that if they do not offer up to par Tech, they will go Bankrupt again and many jobs will be lost in this Country.
But sure lets just keep saying that BEV’s are lame I guess.
In less than 5 years its going to be brutal. In less than 5 years the battery tech will be even more advanced at even cheaper prices. (Think PC evolution) Cost of an average EV will be even lower as production scale is achieved. How is someone that has no inhouse ability in software or hardware going to survive? GM uses vendors for everything and they have to make money. Ford has this issue too. Tesla is the opposite and its why GM and Ford are in a tough tough situation. Production is hard and reducing costs is even harder. I wish them all the best but its not looking good. Hope someone at GM “gets it” but history lesson with how they reacted to the Japanese doesn’t bode well.
@Bob
Agreed
Many people of put off by E. Musk. I am not but I still would not buy a Tesla for other reasons, including the very make-shift looking tablet affixed to the dash and the lack of physical buttons. Fortunately GM has not made either mistake, although there apparently isn’t a button/knob for headlights which isn’t a big deal since they’re presumably automatic.
But beyond that, the Tesla body styles are now very dated, and I say that not being one to judge a vehicle by styling. But I could see a lot of people being turned off by that.
I am used to it and like it. Driven several cars into the ground. Now that I driven my Tesla I no longer
want to drive a button filled car. Between the control of the remote app and onscreen short cuts its so easy to work. Heck you can buy buttons and things as add ons. The fact every base model has
heated seats, wheel, great acceleration, great range reliable charging makes all the difference. But hey to each their own.
Just wait until the tablet doesn’t function some day. I worry a bit about that with all modern cars, since there are some things you cannot do without the display functioning. But with a Tesla that’s greatly magnified.
Also, it’s a safety issue, with the screen being more distracting than a button/knob which remains in place.
Yes! It makes sense to take your eyes off the road every time you need to adjust something. By law you can’t use your phone while you are driving your car but you can operate all the features with the giant tablet screen in the middle of the console. I can find the buttons on my console by feel without looking for them. I know how many degrees that I adjust my climate control by the clicks of the knob. The screens don’t even have haptics necessarily. And what if you have to go to a submenu on the giant screen? I’ll keep my buttons for now thank you!
Ever stare at your radio stations? Ever look at your heat control to see where you are? You mean you drive in such complex streets a moment looking away is going to put you in danger? There are steering wheel controls and short cuts. Its not all on the screen. If need be you could drive without the screen. People have done it.
The thing was driving me on the highway this morning relieving my stress in traffic.
That’s using the free and included AutoPilot. So loving my screen thanks.
Why is it that I can’t go anywhere for a review of this vehicle without a Tesla narcissist having to put their two cents in on how “Tesla is soooo much better?” Nobody cares about your stupid Tesla. I’ve driven one and have been FAR from impressed and even walked off with both me and my wife thinking “why on earth would I spend $45k on this appliance?” Its zippy. That was the ONLY thing I liked about it. The rest was nothing more than useless gimmicks like farting horns, and an autopilot system that doesn’t work unless the roads are clearly marked. A bland interior completely devoid of any personality that makes Toyotas look like Ferraris. So stop thinking that everyone wants one. Because I promise you most Americans don’t. Its only the #4 best selling car in the US which means people who are brand loyalists won’t care to get one once a full transition occurs. You think your millions of Toyota and Honda owners are going to even bat an eye at problematic resale tanking Teslas? Not at all. The same is going to go for the millions of GM, Ford, and Jeep loyalists, and even the Germans are regaining their customers back from their initial Teslas (after releasing EVs of their own with MUCH nicer interiors). So take your “Oh but Tesla…” over to Teslarati.
Well I currently drive 3 GM bevs. 13 years ago I was driving a roadster, and the only reason I only had to pay for tie rods was everything else that broke did so before the warranty ran out or it was repairs for the heating/ air conditioning that the service center broke while trying to fix other things.
Otherwise the car was slightly better than modern day Tesla’s, because it was basically a Lotus Elise. The stuff that Tesla replaced to give the car a different look all broke down. I paid $800 to fix tie rods, which I did at local LOTUS dealer since many of the same parts and much cheaper, and chose my own tires to give the next guy purchaser much better tire life than I initially had with the oems, including straightening the camber of the rear tires so they didn’t squirm themselves to death.
Then traded it in no cash for a brand new caddy ELR phev. Was still worth something at that point.
That tesla had buttons bcuz the touch screen was the size of a large flipfone.
Now GM has goofy marketing plans that’s true. But the basic car is more solid.
I like the Caddy Lyriq except for the piano black. Too expensive for me but still a nice car.
You sound kind of angry people are doing comparisons. There is the thing, if GM made a great car I would say that. So far in the land of EV’s they have missed the mark by quite a bit. Making cars too expensive for GM and without being competitive. They got close with the Bolt until the recall. If the seats didn’t suck, the charging was better and it had more range it would be a nice little car. I owned it until they told me it might set my garage on fire so park it far away. Thats not a little mistake. If you can’t take comparisons then try not to read the comments. GM needs to compete not lay down and say good enough.
The door handles do cause some concern. First, that they may fail to function at some point, and second that people with long fingernails will scratch the paint above the handle.
I don’t really think it’s a good trade off just to gain a few more miles of range.
My car opened easily while temps were below -10F for a week in Chicago. So I am not so worried about the door handles. If I need to in a pinch there is a manual release for the doors inside. I had my Chevy Van door handle break twice. So there is that. It just snapped off. Far as paint, I have run it several times through a car wash and scrubbed it by hand. Not noticed this issue. Maybe the older ones?
I’ve found wireless chargers work better as phone warmers than anything else. Still an odd omission considering the competition.
I don’t know why. It is the only way I’ve charged phones for almost 10 years now. Works well for my phones (current and previous)
They say it kills the battery sooner, but it might depend on the phone. How long do you tend to keep your phones?
My current one was bought Jan 2018 and will probably replace in another year or two. I keep way longer than most. Prior phone I believe was 6 when I replaced and was replaced mainly for 4G access. The current one still lasts 2-3 days on a charge, but has a bigger battery than the previous one I owned. I am not the guy keeping the phone makers in biz.
That’s really good to hear that wireless charging didn’t hurt it. I’ve tried to avoid wirelessly charging my 6 year old phone too often and the battery is still performing poorly.
The one in my XT5 works perfectly fine. Even with a Poetic Spartan case on my Samsung S22. I just learn that I have to put it in the charge slot upside down (so the exposed camera part is on the pad) and it will work without having to remove the case. After a nice longish drive I have a fully charged phone. But I do agree. This like Carplay and AA is a strange omission. But knowing GM, they will add it back after awhile when they see enough people walking out of the dealerships. Reminds me of when they omitted the Off button for the Start/Stop system. I literally walked right out of the dealership and said “I’ll come back when I see the off button back in their cars.”
To me this is a very weird and simple minded decision from gm to not have such a standard feature like wireless charging available to the Equinox EV. The Blazer EV has enough features, interior space, and performance to stand on its own without needing to deny wireless charging for the Equinox EV. A comical decision if you ask me.
Will you not be offering Chevy Bolt anymore ??? THIS IS A GREAT CAR ! I feel closer to this car than family members .
It’s coming back in a year or two, but odd there’s a gap.
Heather, this website is not affiliated with gm the vehicle manufacturer, it just one of a number of web sites that presents some features on gm vehicle offerings, along with some technical details and road test reviews.
However, as has been mentioned already, the Bolt will be back, supposed to be 2026 unless that changes.
Yes, the Bolt is an awesome vehicle overall.
The only charger issues I have is they will not fit the I phone Max or other larger phones in a number of vehicles. It is not like they could not make some small changes. The last gen Colorado and Canyon were a good example. The cubby was too small.
Wireless charging is a feature I don’t look for in either a car or a phone. Maybe GM is discovering it’s not that appealing of a feature, although it is odd they don’t offer it as an option, that combined with some other prerequisite options would raise the price of the car by $5,000.
Not only is there no charger on the new Equinox EV, the other mistake GM did was not including cool ventilated front seats and a garage door opener transmitter, and the biggest mistake is no Apple CarPlay. Too many mistakes that only makes me wait for the next model year before changing from my Bolt EV, or I’ll need to consider a non-GM EV vehicle.
Garage door opener is an option on 3 level trims.
As I’ve pointed out before, this is one of the many struggles for legacy automakers with BEVs – differentiation between models built on the same BEV platform with identical batteries and motors. GM has to dumb down lower models so that it doesn’t cannibalize the nearly identical higher model, thereby leading to people opting for better alternatives elsewhere. With ICE vehicles engine variations could mask this, but given the premium on range, they can’t just reduce range on the lower variant. Throw in the Cadillac and its hard to justify the Chevys. It makes a lot more sense to make fewer vehicle options with all the best stuff rather than selling 3 nearly identical vehicles with a smattering of pros and cons spread out over numerous trims. It just makes each a little less competitive in their class.
It’s one thing to differentiate from a Blazer EV. It’s quite another to differentiate by withholding a feature offered in the Chevy Trax. I find it far more likely that GM took to cost-cutting to make the Equinox EV affordable and this was one of the features on the chopping block.
Wireless charging has always been super hit or miss for me. I have it in one of our cars right now, but always plug it in anyway. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t, it’s always when I absolutely urgently needed to get a bit of charge into my phone.
Wireless charging has been a hit or miss experience. A phone in a case is a complete miss, without a case it is more of a miss. So not missed by me.
I would agree that it probably not included because to prevent siphoning of Blazer EV sales. A HUD, Bose sound system and a review mirror were in the original specs on the Chevy website. The same may be true for the sun roof; I’ve seen it a couple of press release cars but the last I knew it could not be ordered.
What’s really funny (and infuriating) is that the window stickers on some of the first Equinox EV deliveries had a wireless charger listed and the dealers had to scratch it out.
What an idiotic reason! If you are shopping for a vehicle and can’t tell the difference between two from the same manufacturer, MAYBE they should quit making one of them since even GM execs admit they’re too much alike. What a joke GM is becoming in their move to focus on sales everywhere except the United States.
I will gladly use a 5.99 charging disk that works if GM is going to charge us..pu intended $500 for the feature and considering how many complain about the blazers performance of the charger though it may be the cases and such owners are using. Though using a port for charging will hold up use of one if the intent is totally for charing and not data for those in the car without the built in one.
I dont consider a phone charger a differentiation between 2 cars…the car style and such does considering everyone has a cell phone practically to charge! Come on GM dont be so cheap. At least have it in the upper 2LT/RS/?? and above models.
The Equinox also doesn’t offer a sunroof on any trim level.
GM sure is making some dumb decisions…
When the dust settles in the next couple years, check what has happened to GMs retail market share. Then you will know if their new product portfolio has been successful. The competition is going to be brutal. There will be casualties. Price and quality will be very important.
To leave out this feature is simply because of weak and in-experienced product managers.