Latest on the Chevy Bolt

It was originally reported that Chevy’s new electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Bolt, would be ready sometime in 2017. There’s good news for those hoping to get their hands on the first long-range EV (electric vehicle) by a mainstream brand, as General Motors announced that they’ve accelerated development on the innovative car. As a result, the Bolt could be available at your local Chevrolet dealers by 2016.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Specifications

• 200-mile range
• A base price of $30,000 after full federal tax credit
• Single, high-capacity electric motor
• 60 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, featuring five sections, 10 modules, and 96 cell groups
• Large 10.2-inch-diagonal color touchscreen display with “flip-board” operation
• Regenerative braking feature

2017 Chevrolet Bolt Range

The Chevy Bolt, which was introduced as a concept in January at the Detroit Auto Show and later confirmed in February, is part of Chevy’s electric car grouping, which includes the Volt (plugin hybrid), the Malibu (non-plugin hybrid), and the Spark EV. The Bolt is reportedly capable of going about 200 miles on a single charge.

“We have experienced 200 miles. We’re pretty confident in that,” Pam Fletcher, General Motors executive chief engineer for electric vehicles, told Greg Gardner of the Detroit Free Press. “You can imagine we’re going to eke out every mile of the range we can.”

2017 Chevy Bolt Price

While traditional battery-electric cars with similar ranges have a starting price tag of $75,000 (the Tesla Model S 70D holds that distinction), the Bolt will sell for about $30,000 after tax breaks. This is part of General Motors’ desire to cater to all car buyers.

“We’re going to continue to make great cars and let the cars speak for themselves to people who want them,” Fletcher said. “And we’re not doing it with just one. Look at this from a showroom perspective. This is an incredible statement of the commitment of Chevrolet to electrification.”

As Fletcher told John Voelcker of GreenCarReports.com, the company wants to make “electric cars approachable to all, not just to the elite,” which has clearly been reflected in the projected price tag. The Bolt is expected to be sold in all 50 states, and Voelcker guesses the car will also go on sale in Canada (based on the upcoming sale of the 2016 Chevrolet Spark EV).

The manufacturers are testing out more than 50 hand-built prototypes, Bolt chief engineer Josh Tavel told Colias. The 2017 Bolt EV is already being assembled in both South Korea and at the General Motors Orion Assembly plant in Orion, Michigan.

“Effectively these are the bones of the car that’s going to be the production Chevy Bolt,” Tavel told Greg Migliore of AutoBlog.com.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Design

We got a sneak peek at the Bolt earlier in June, as a camouflaged crossover/hatchback was photographed during a road test. While there haven’t been many details released regarding any specific interior or exterior features, Migliore used the disguised car’s outline to come up with some basic, assumed features.

“The car also has a tall greenhouse, slight creases in the sides, and a sloping roofline in back,” the writer described. “There’s a rapidly rising body line that makes for less glass for rear passengers, but that’s probably part of the camo.”

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield of TransportEvolved.com also tried her hand at analyzing the hooded car. She noticed an update rear tailgate, a previously undisclosed (at least on the concept car) rear wiper, and a considerably higher license plate holder. Gordon-Bloomfield suspects that General Motors may be eliminating their two-piece glass rear tailgate (as seen on the concept car), instead including a more-standard hatch with one pane of glass.

All of these changes can be added to the list compiled during the revealing of the concept car, which saw alterations to the front bumper, lower apron, side mirrors, and wheels.

Furthermore, Migliore reports that more than 1,000 Chevy engineers are testing the vehicle for competence in “ride and handling dynamics, cabin comfort, quietness, charging capability, and energy efficiency.”

This week, we got a video featuring the camouflaged Bolt, with the vehicle being put through both speed and acceleration tests. The car is also shown being charged at a DC quick-charging station, using, as Voelcker points out, the standard US-German CCS connector.

That’s about it for details, as Voelcker’s attempted requests for more information were denied. However, the writer believes the car’s architecture could be similar to the next-generation Chevy Sonic subcompact lineup, considering that both car’s are being produced in Michigan. When asked about the lithium-ion cell supplier and the size of the battery pack, Fletcher told Voelcker that the “LG Chem has been a very valued and trusted supplier.”

A big selling point for the Bolt (and fellow electric vehicles) will be the availability of the necessary charging stations, and owners will probably be inconvenienced as they look to recharge their batteries. Of course, as Volt chief engineer Andrew Farah told Gardner, the dedicated owners should be able to recharge from the convenience of their own homes.

“As these EV ranges get longer, the idea that you have to get a full charge overnight at home is not so much an issue because you don’t usually discharge it every day completely,” Farah said.

When Can I Buy a 2017 Chevy Bolt EV?

It looks like you’ll have to wait more than a year to get behind the wheel of a new Chevy Bolt. However, it should come as a pleasant surprise that the innovative electric vehicle is ahead of schedule. In a year’s time, plenty of additional information regarding the Bolt will be released.

In the meantime, you should give a look at the Chevy collection at Dan Cummins Chevrolet. While you may be telling yourself that you want to wait for the electric car, you may find yourself driving out of the lot in a new Chevy!

Posted in Kentucky Chevrolet | Comments Off on Latest on the Chevy Bolt