According to a Chevrolet announcement, the very first Chevy Bolt EVs have been delivered to customers in Fremont (located in the San Francisco Bay Area). The 2017 Chevy Bolt offers an EPA-estimated 238 miles of range per charge and has a ‘nickel-rich’ 60 kWh battery pack, which is impressive for an electric car costing under $40,000.
It was just a few years ago that the most impressive mass-market EVs achieved 40–90 miles of range per charge, and they cost roughly the same. Back then, you would have to purchase a Tesla to get over 200 miles per charge.
That’s why the release of the Chevy Bolt is a milestone. It made waves in the media earlier this year and changed even optimists’ outlook on the future of electric vehicles. The fact that the Chevy Bolt achieves a reasonable 0–60 MPH acceleration time of 6.5 seconds doesn’t hurt either.
The first customer has received their #BoltEV! Time to take this #gamechanger on the road. https://t.co/wtaJYRAlse
— Mary Barra (@mtbarra) December 14, 2016
If this is your first time hearing about the Chevy Bolt, it is Chevy’s 100% electric alternative to the Volt, which (unlike the Bolt) uses a gasoline-fueled generator for backup. The Bolt’s MSRP is currently $37,495 ($29,995 after federal tax credit).
It’s also worth noting that the Volt was itself a milestone when it first came out in 2011, as it was one of the first mass-market electric cars (not 100% electric, but an extended-range electric car).
A GM spokesperson said that their reason for choosing the Bay Area was:
“The Bay Area is one of the largest markets for the Chevy Electric family and Fremont Chevrolet (dealership) is the number one store for Volt sales this year, making it the perfect location for Bolt EV to make its debut.”
I can’t help but agree. However, I hope the Chevy Bolt is rolled out to the rest of the country (and the world) soon, as there are millions of people who could benefit greatly from this car. We’ll have to be patient, though. The rollout to the rest of the country is expected to take several months.
This is at least as important as the day the first Nissan Leaf was delivered – it is possibly the biggest event ever in the history of EV’s.
I can hardly wait to see a Bolt EV in person, and take it for a test drive with my family. It will be the EV that replaces our ICE.
Nice way to start this comment thread Neil. The Bolt is arguably not a perfect car, but it is a 100% long range electric vehicle from a major manufacturer. That is a milestone.
Although I have a Model 3 on reserve, I’m due for a Bay Area test drive in a few days. Looking forward to it.
The Bolt EV is here because Tesla is building the Model 3.
It is all good.
Well, it is a GM product, so they will have to earn my trust with a couple of years of real world use with the Bolt before ever considering it; I would never get a GM car without their first having a proven track record. I am very skeptical that the Bolt can get 230 miles in real world use; I would be surprised if it comes close to 200.
And the first signs are not promising: I tried to access their Bolt Website a few days ago and it was down. I finally got in a couple of days later and with the configurator learned that the base price of the Bolt actually comes in at over $40,000 when you include the DC charger ($700+) and other essentials.
I was frustrated there was no info on getting one in states other than California, and the local Chevy dealerships here seemed to show no interest in the Bolt (“We have no clue when that car will be available…”), so I went into the online chat on the Bolt Website to inquire. I was told by Chevy corporate to ask my local dealership (ha!), and then was finally told that California would be the focus with other states perhaps getting deliveries later in 2017. I asked point blank that if I ordered one right now GM would not be able to tell me when I would get it? He admitted that yes, they could not provide any delivery dates.