GM to stop production of Chevrolet Bolt EVs by year-end to focus on electric pickups

Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press
·3 min read
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General Motors will end production of its popular Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV electric vehicles by the end of the year.

CEO Mary Barra told Wall Street analysts Tuesday that the automaker will stop production of the vehicles at Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township and starting next year will dedicate production there to the 2024 Silverado EV pickup. GM expects to produce more than 70,000 Bolts for global sales in 2023.

Barra said the move will give GM the ability to build 600,000 electric trucks annually when its plants reach full capacity. The Silverado EV will also be made at Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtramck, where the automaker also builds the GMC Hummer EV and SUV. Orion Assembly will be a key driver for GM to have capacity to produce more than 1 million EVs in 2025 in North America.

A lone, unsold 2022 Bolt electric vehicle sits on a lot at a Chevrolet dealership on Feb. 27, 2022, in Englewood, Colorado.
A lone, unsold 2022 Bolt electric vehicle sits on a lot at a Chevrolet dealership on Feb. 27, 2022, in Englewood, Colorado.

Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities applauded the move, saying, "GM is ripping the Band-Aid off on the Bolt and betting on the future of EVs around the Lyriq, Hummer, Blazer, Silverado and other parts of its transformation. The EV baton is being handed to the future of GM. It's a smart move."

The UAW did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on the news.

The Free Press was first to report in July 2022 that the Bolt models, which have been GM's most affordable and accessible EVs, would at some point disappear from the lineup. The Bolt EVs are powered by the automaker's BEV2 platform, which stands for battery electric vehicle. GM's upcoming EVs, including the Silverado EV, will be powered by its proprietary Ultium battery propulsion system.

GM first started selling the Bolt at the end of 2016 and it was the industry's first long-range, mass-market all-electric vehicle. GM introduced the SUV styling of the car, called the Bolt EUV, in 2021. GM said its data showed that about three-quarters of Bolt EV owners come from non-GM vehicles and 80% say they would buy another Chevy vehicle.

GM has said the Equinox EV, due out later this year, is expected to start at about $30,000, making it one of the most affordable EVs GM offers. The 2023 Bolt EV starts at $26,595 and the EUV, $28,195.

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Last year, GM said it would invest $4 billion to retool Orion Assembly to build the Silverado EV on the Ultium platform. At the time, GM said the expansion would create or retain an estimated 2,000 jobs. GM currently employs 1,270 hourly and salaried employees at Orion, said Chevrolet spokesman Kevin Kelly.

"When the Chevrolet Bolt EV launched, it was a huge technical achievement and the first affordable EV, which set in motion GM’s all-electric future," Kelly added.

For the first quarter of 2023, GM sold 20,670 EVs, 19,700 of which were the Bolt and Bolt EUV.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM to stop production of Chevrolet Bolt EVs by year-end