General Motors announced on Tuesday that it will cease production of its Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle later this year to prioritize zero-emission production of trucks and SUVs built on a new battery platform.
According to GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, “We have progressed so far that it’s now time to plan to end the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EU production, which will happen at the very end of the year.”
Reuters reported that despite its success, with 38,120 units sold in 2022 and accounting for more than 90% of all US GM EV sales, the Bolt will be phased out, similar to the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid that GM ended production in 2019.
A visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, David Zipper, who writes about transportation policy on Twitter, criticized GM’s decision as “a step backward for road safety, emissions mitigation, and EV affordability… Putting EVs out of reach for all but affluent Americans widens inequities & slows electrification.”
According to the report, the decision came after the Bolt was frequently touted by the Biden administration as an example of an affordable EV, with a starting price of $26,500 and qualifying for a $7,500 federal tax credit. The news resulted in a 4.2% drop in GM shares on Tuesday.
However, GM will invest $4 billion in its Orion Township Assembly plant, which builds the Bolt, to produce Chevrolet Silverado EV and electric GMC Sierra using its next-generation Ultium EV platform.
Furthermore, GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck and Orion plants are expected to build more than 600,000 electric trucks a year by late 2024, and GM expects to build 400,000 EVs in North America from 2022 through mid-2024 and increase capacity to 1 million units annually in North America in 2025.
Barra also stated that when the Orion reopens in 2024 and reaches full production, employment will nearly triple. Additionally, GM expects its battery plant in Warren, Ohio, to reach full capacity by year-end.
