Originally published on CleanTechnica.
The CEO of GM, Mary Barra, recently revealed during a conversation with CNET’s RoadShow that the Chevy Bolt EV won’t simply be a standalone model — the platform will also be used for a “range” of different future electric vehicle models.
What are these future models? We have no idea as of yet. Certainly, using the Bolt EV platform as the basis of further electric models would make a lot of sense, but when will these models be released? Is GM in any hurry to sell more electric vehicles than it already does? Or is it waiting for battery prices to fall further so it can increase the profit margin of such all-electric vehicle sales?
Hard questions to answer. Especially since there’s clearly now a lot of demand for the Chevy Bolt EV but the company seems to be taking its time ramping production up — and it remains unclear how many units of the model the company is even willing to sell if demand is there.
Tech Crunch provides more:
“Barra talked about how EVs are the only way to make autonomous vehicles truly work, too, and that’s another common refrain in the car industry, owing to economics and even the mechanics of fueling concerns. The Bolt is currently the platform for GM’s autonomous testing, which it’s ramping up via its Cruise acquisition from last year, and which it also intends to use in a fleet ride-sharing model in partnership with Lyft.
“Where GM is headed with the Bolt EV platform after the Bolt itself will be interesting to watch. EVs are evolving hand-in-hand with autonomous tech, but whether GM pursues more traditional car buyers with different takes on EVs, as Ford has done, will be telling as to their long-term strategy.”
What do you think these future all-electric GM offerings based on the Bolt EV platform will look like? What sort of designs/bodies would make sense?
Reprinted with permission.
Cadillac ATS-E, I’m in!
I purchased a 2012 Volt 5yrs ago and still enjoy the EV driving and would like to test drive the Bolt. My brother did not like the Volt for unknown reasons and purchased a 2013 Fusion with gas engine. As I was following him I noticed all the black around the exhaust area. This shows how these new cars are so polluting . Would there be all that blackness around the exhaust if alcohol was the fuel. We really need to get away from these gas guzzlers that make all the pollution. If GM and Ford are going to make more EVs than lets start more advertising of EVs and drop all the adds about the gas guzzlers. GM and Ford also need to change the pickups to battery and fuel cells which is already happening with semis. Bloom energy may also be a possibility
for fuel cells in vehicles