If one is willing to take the Facebook posts of alleged workers at GM’s Orion manufacturing facility in Detroit at face value, then it would seem that the Chevy Bolt may begin hitting the market as soon as the second half of 2016 (as previously rumored).
To be more clear here, it seems that several posts made recently on the Chevy Volt Owners Facebook page allege that preparation work for the Bolt assembly line has already begun at the Orion manufacturing facility.
If true, these posts do seem to suggest that earlier reports that the 200-mile Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) would be released before the end of the year are correct.
The GM-Volt.com website (not associated with GM, btw) provides more:
One of the members posted that they were “programming robots for the Chevy Bolt,” subsequently adding that he was “working on production sub-assemblies for the body of the car.” A final comment left by the poster exclaimed that there was a “big rush on parts!”
Another member of the group chimed in later, stating he had “just installed the hood and liftgate in Orion for the Bolt,” and that they “already have all our robots programmed for the closures.” The second member added that “full production is a little ways off.” These Facebook postings must be taken with a grain of salt, and not clear is the posters’ actual degree of knowledge of GM’s ultimate plans for the Bolt. Nor of course is GM officially confirming any of this.
In any case, the social media hubbub over what may mean building a batch of Bolts to start proof testing of the assembly, supply line, and the cars themselves prior to actual deliveries would fit with the way GM normally prepares its products.
Worth noting here, is that the President of General Motors North America, Mark Reuss, recently neither “confirmed or denied” that the Bolt will be available by December 5, 2016 — a date which will mark the 20th anniversary of the GM EV1. Hmm…