Chevrolet
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GM reveals an EV for (almost) every purse and purpose
Ed Niedermeyer is an author, columnist and co-host of The Autonocast. His book, Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, was released in August 2019.
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General Motors’ EV day didn’t just mark the launch of a new flexible battery architecture and an ambitious plan to deploy this underlying foundation across all of the automaker’s brands, including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC.
It was a resurrection, albeit with a modern twist.
The company’s announcement this week gave new life to its brand ladder — a portfolio that ranges from the heights of luxury to the most basic utility — and tipped its hand about how it will bring EVs “across the chasm.”
This game plan isn’t new. GM is bringing back a strategy that once defined its success and reshaped America’s automotive landscape. This strategy worked for GM until complacency crept in and the brand ladder collapsed. This time, GM is aiming to avoid these snares.
History lesson
Henry Ford’s moving assembly line birthed the early auto industry, but as American prosperity grew in the 1910s-20s, it was General Motors that laid the foundations of the modern car market. Under then-chairman Alfred Sloan, the amalgamation of once-independent automakers united under a strategy that would, in his words, create “a car for every purse and purpose.” From a value Chevrolet to a sporty Pontiac, from a discreetly plush Buick to a majestic Cadillac, and with countless brands in between, what became known as Sloanism birthed the idea that there should be a car to reflect every American’s self-image and social status.
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The 2020 Chevy Bolt EV now has a 259-mile range thanks to some cell chemistry tinkering
The 2020 Chevy Bolt EV now has 259 miles of range, a 9% increase from previous year models of the electric hatchback, according to the EPA.
To get there, the company focused on cell chemistry, not the battery pack. The GM brand did not add more battery cells or change the battery pack or the way it is integrated into the vehicle structure, a spokesperson confirmed.
Instead, Chevrolet’s battery engineering team made what the company described as “impactful changes to the cell chemistry.” The changes to the cell chemistry allowed the team to improve the energy of the cell electrodes, and ultimately enabled them to squeeze more range out of the battery.
The increase pushes the 2020 Chevy Bolt ahead of the Kia Niro and the standard range plus variant of the Tesla Model 3, with 239 and 240 miles of range, respectively. Other versions of the Model 3, the long-range and performance, have a much longer 310-mile range. It’s also just one mile better than the 258-mile range Hyundai Kona EV. Nissan Leaf Plus, the laggard in the group, can travel 226 miles on a single charge.
That might not seem like much. But in this small, yet growing pool of electric vehicle models, jumping from 238 to 259 miles could help Chevrolet sell more Bolt EVs next year. It could also cannibalize sales this year.
The electric vehicle has never been a top seller for the GM brand, particularly compared to its top-selling SUVs and trucks. It has beat out some of its other Chevy models and sales are high enough for the company to stick with the compact hatchback for now.
GM delivered 23,297 Chevy Bolt EVs in 2017, the first model year of the electric vehicle. But the following year, deliveries fell 22%, to 18,019. Sales have rebounded in the first half of the year.
The 2020 model year, which will be offered in two new exterior colors, is expected to arrive in dealerships later this year. The base price of the electric vehicle is $37,495, which includes destination and freight charges. Tax, title, license and dealer fees are excluded.
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GM to introduce two new all-electric cars by 2019 in path to zero emissions
GM today announced a strategy to eventually deliver a zero emission product line across all its segments, though it didn’t put a specific timeline on when it would achieve that goal. The process is complex, said Mark Reuss, EVP Global Product Development, and GM doesn’t see there being “one year where we flip a switch and it’s all electric.” Still, GM is committing… Read More
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Driving the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV
The Bolt is designed to be approachable and at least a little familiar at first, even though it’s actually a very different kind of car under the hood, thanks to its 60 kWh battery and electric motor. Chevrolet knows that a lot of its owners will be first-time EV buyers, and that there’s a learning curve when you’re coming from a long history of driving gas-powered cars. Bolt… Read More
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Here’s how Chevrolet built a practical electric vehicle with the 2017 Bolt EV
Chevrolet said it was going to bring an affordable, long-range electric vehicle to market – and it did, with the 2017 Bolt EV. I visited Palo Alto to find out more about the Bolt EV, and the tech behind it, speaking to the car’s lead engineers and designers.
The Bolt itself was present, too, of course, an impressive car currently shipping to customers that offers an equally… Read More
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Chevrolet delivers its first Bolt EVs to customers
Chevrolet has delivered its first three Bolt EVs to customers, making its success in delivering a long-range all-electric car available at a decent price official. The company’s first three customers are based in California, and all took delivery in the Bay area. Chevrolet had said that it would be delivering the Bolt by the end of 2016, and it made good on that promise by putting… Read More
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Chevrolet’s Colorado ZH2 fuel cell Army test truck is made for modular power
Chevrolet continues work on zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell tech, and it’s now providing a just-revealed Colorado ZH2 fuel cell vehicle to the U.S. Army for design, to find out if the unique advantages of fuel cell tech are viable in actual real-world military mission situations. The ZH2 is a modified version of the Colorado midsize pickup Chevrolet produces for the consumer market, with… Read More
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Chevrolet Bolt EV starts at $29,995 U.S. with federal tax credits
Chevrolet’s new Bolt EV is a vehicle that Wired has dubbed “Tesla-walloping,” and its pricing seems like a direct shot at Tesla’s lineup, including the forthcoming Model 3, which is set to be the dedicated electric carmaker’s more “affordable” option. Chevrolet revealed specific pricing and trim details for the base model Bolt EV LT, which begins at… Read More
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GM testing Cruise’s self-driving tech with Bolt EVs on Arizona roads
GM’s putting its Cruise acquisition to good use in Arizona: The self-driving car startup acquired by the automaker in March is trialling its tech on public roads in Scottsdale. Cruise tweeted about the autonomous testing expansion, which uses Chevrolet Bolt all-electric vehicles, and which adds to the core fleet of testing vehicles already operating in San Francisco. We’re… Read More
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