Chevrolet Bolt

[retsmah]

Awesome! I like at least the size and concept of the Bolt, although I haven't driven one. I drove a 2017 Volt and liked that.

The Volt I drove was not doing one pedal driving, although I'd imagine it may be in the options somewhere. It had a little hand brake on the steering wheel that you could use to regenerative brake only, which I thought was a pretty nice way of giving you control of regenerative vs. friction braking.

I figured that would be replaced by just one pedal driving, but doing a bit of googling it looks like that's still available on the 2023 Bolt?

[balki]

Yup:
1. Minor regen in D(rive)
2. Regen with the paddle
3. More regen with 1-pedal mode (button just below D)
4. Max regen in 1-pedal mode + the paddle

[Crazed_Insanity]

Looks like Tesla is really going to make the Model 2, the Bolt direct competitor... looks and priced very closely!

Maybe that's just for the European market?

I can't see Tesla doing that much better than GM with pretty much the same car...

However, it is mind boggling how Bolt failed to capture more of the EV market share given its super affordable price. Especially in today's crazy market where a sub-$20k car is nearly impossible to find...

[balki]

Bolts are selling like hot cakes now (on pace to sell about as many in 2023 as they did their first 4 years combined) mainly because they can be had for about $20k after incentives in a lot of the most populus states.
It didn't help their first few years when their MSRP was closer to $40k then lost the IRS tax credit (and the Model 3).

I did start to research the Model 2 but it seems to be at least 2 years out.

I do see the next Bolt selling much better, perhaps 100k/year. It might beat the Model 2 to the market.

[Tom Servo]

It was really weird when Chevy said they were discontinuing it. From what I gather it's been a pretty successful car for them and really the only entry-level EV out there. Glad they changed their minds.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, I'm skeptical of these legacy automakers... it's difficult to know for sure whether if they're reacting to the actual market or just BSing...

Given today's market with pretty much no sub-$20k vehicles, Bolt with tax credit really should be selling like hot cakes and not be discontinued.

When I leased the Honda Clarity EV, I was ready to buy the plugin hybrid version after a 3 year lease. At the time, it was supposedly the best selling plugin hybrid for a while, ahead of Volt. (Mainly because it's bigger and has longer EV range) However, one reason or another, GM and Honda are not really into selling those cars and quickly killed them. I honestly felt at the time, people loved them, but they claim otherwise.

I think they built those cars probably just to satisfy some fleet average MPG requirements or something. Neither GM nor Honda were really that serious about selling those cars. Perhaps plugin hybrids are just too expensive because it requires complexities of both worlds? Honda just decided to give up and GM decided to go full EV? But then now even the Bolt is discontinued. Maybe they just couldn't build them that cheap and are selling them at a loss?

This is the main reason why I'm a bit scared of buying EVs. Manufacturer's commitment is just lacking. I don't really want an out of production car on my driveway because I typically want to keep my cars for a long time...

Anyway, as for you, if current market continues, you might be able to sell your Bolt in a couple years and make some money off of it! :p If you do keep it longer, I'm sure GM probably has ironed out most of its bugs so that it'll likely be pretty trouble free.

[balki]

It's possible I can sell the car in a couple of years at cost (unlikely though; street parking means it'll be dinged up).
I read GM was losing $8k each, certainly possible it's purely a compliance car.
Their EV1 cost GM something like $80-250k each in the late 1990's (at least twice the first of a Corvette)

[Crazed_Insanity]

GM certainly has made it a habit of showing us their cool creations like EV1, Volt, Bolt and then end up telling us... 'nevermind'! :p

[balki]

Unless it's a low production halo car, the possibility of profitability should exist.
Does seem like that will very possible with the new Bolt (MSRP will almost certainly be under $30k with minor improvements over the 2023 Bolt).