During the GM Investor Day presentation, General Motors President Mark Reuss dropped some information about the upcoming 2026 Chevy Bolt EV. If it holds true, it’s good news for both consumers and GM’s bottom line.
“The 2026 Bolt will offer the same value as the original Bolt and much more, and it will be a moneymaker for us,” Reuss said. “Think about that. It is too early to get into the performance details. It’ll have the latest technology and faster charging, so this is pretty cool. It’s a direct result of the investment in the next-gen EV platform.”
So, for starters, the Bolt will be both affordable and profitable. This is consistent with Mary Barra’s rhetoric from 2022 when she told investors that its EV business would be profitable in 2025. Of course, it’s too early to say whether GM’s entire EV business will be profitable as soon as next year, but it sounds like the next-gen Chevy Bolt will play an important part in reaching that goal.
His comments about using “the latest technology and faster charging” also correlate with Mary Barra’s previous comments about the next Bolt when she said GM would “move the Bolt to Ultium.” As we reported last year, the next-gen Chevy Bolt EV will be largely based on the discontinued Bolt EUV, still using the BEV2 platform but with Ultium technology. Or GM’s current-generation technology, as the Ultium branding will soon be dropped.
“The price isn’t final yet, but it will be priced only slightly higher than the 2023 Bolt, which started at $28,795, and it will just be one member of a family on the Bolt, including an even lower cost option,” Reuss continued. “Very excited, and I love stuff like this because so many people will get to experience this, so I am very, very excited. We have a loyal and enthusiastic customer base who loves the Bolt and we are excited to deliver a new generation to them.”
If the 2026 Chevy Bolt is priced “slightly higher” than $28,795, then it’s a safe bet that it will start at right around the $30k mark. Assuming the $7,500 federal tax incentive will still be around by the time it hits the market, that will make this compact EV even more affordable.
It’s hard to predict details like performance and range specs, but all signs point to the 2026 Chevy Bolt EV being an even better version of the Bolt EUV.
Comments
These ridiculous days, $3-4K more is “close to”.
Equinox EV starts at 35K, the Bolt will be priced under the Equinox EV.
Yes. I would expect it to start right around $30K with the change in battery technology, but still using the slightly larger Bolt EUV body as a starting point. They could easily go slightly smaller to the original Bolt size or so and should shoot for a Sub $25K starting price for marketing sakes.
during the investor day event they said the Bolt would be coming back with a “Family” of vehicles and one even cheaper. So we will see.
Unfortunately the new Bolt comes at the expense of the general dropping the Malibu. Hopefully the new architecture can be used for a EV Malibu sedan.
Ahhh, so it currently is still unprofitable to sell an EV for 30K that’s the size of 15-20K ICE cars that turn a decent profit? That’s revealing. I thought the current bolt was supposed to be profitable. Can I believe this one will be as well? Will they say it’s profitable if they still loose only 1 grand per unit and write off R&D costs elsewhere?
They never said the previous Bolt was profitable. Ever. In fact, they were relatively clear that it was a massive EBITDA loss leader.
The Gen 1 bolt yes, was loosing 7500/unit before the battery recall even happened. I do recall somewhere a promise the Bolt EUV was “going to be profitable” but alas, here we are.
The new Chevy Bolt EUV can kill sales from the Asian imports.
It’s great that GM’s President (known for his love of Corvettes) recognizes the “loyal and enthusiastic customer base who love the Bolt”. Few cars after just the first generation gain such a loyal fan base, have a book written about them, etc. In the Bolt’s case, that populate support shows a remarkable turnaround after the LG battery issues. The 2026 Bolt should be a real winner!
I love my ’23 EUV LT. The vehicle, even in base model form, is packaged fantastically. It is hands down the roomiest small car I have ever driven, comfortably seating 4 adults with more rear head/legroom than vehicles 2-3 classes up in size.
I’m dissapointed that the smaller Bolt will be discontinued and my only option is a larger SUV version of it. I really liked the size of the the standard Bolt. I guess I can look at a Nissan Leaf.