On April 26th, GM announced that it will stop producing its Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle by the end of this year in preparation for launching an electric pickup truck based on the new generation battery technology next year.
Bolt is the first electric vehicle for the mass market under General Motors, launched in 2016 with a starting price of around $35,000. Bolt has two models, the Bolt EV and the larger Bolt EUV, which currently account for the majority of General Motors’ electric vehicle sales.
However, the battery unit used by Bolt is different from the one used by other upcoming electric vehicles from General Motors, which use the self-developed Ultium platform that can provide higher energy density and longer driving range, while the battery used by Bolt adopts an older design and chemical composition. The Ultium platform will be used for General Motors’ future electric vehicles, including GMC’s Hummer and Cadillac’s Lyriq.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced during Tuesday’s investor conference call that the factory in Orion, Michigan, which currently produces the Bolt, will be retooled to begin production of electric versions of the Silverado and Sierra pickup trucks next year. These two pickups are among General Motors’ best-selling products.
Barra said that when the Orion plant is fully operational again, the workforce will nearly triple and the annual production capacity will reach 600,000 electric pickups.
General Motors plans to sell more than 400,000 electric vehicles in the North American market between early 2022 and mid-2023 and establish annual production capacity of one million electric vehicles in the United States and China, respectively. General Motors hopes to catch up with industry leader Tesla in the electric vehicle field through these initiatives.
Although the Bolt is a relatively low-priced electric vehicle, it has not achieved expected sales performance. In addition, General Motors had to recall all Bolts produced due to battery-related supplier issues that caused multiple fires.
This fall, General Motors will launch the new Equinox EV, another electric vehicle priced at around $30,000.
