According to the automaker’s CEO Mary Barra, the popular subcompact electric vehicle model from General, the Chevy Bolt EV, which is currently scheduled for discontinuation at the end of 2023, will receive a fresh lease of life with a projected return in calendar 2025.
According to Automotive News, Barra stated that the Chevy Bolt EV has received a lot of excellent customer feedback this year and that the decision to bring the vehicle back in 25 was influenced by the demand from the public.
The statement fills in the gaps regarding the timeline that were present when GM initially confirmed in July that a next-generation Bolt was being developed. The General then disclosed that the 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV and 2023 Chevy Bolt EV would not, in fact, be the last model year of the Bolt family.
The next generation of the Chevy Bolt will use third-generation technology, which will include GM Ultium batteries and GM Ultium Drive motors for power and propulsion, replacing the second-generation GM electric vehicle technology currently utilised by the Bolt. To expedite development, the revived Bolt will utilise elements of the previous Bolt engineering and design rather than doing a complete overhaul.
Additionally, GM will be utilising a variant of the current Ultium battery technology in the next Bolt. For energy, the tiny EV will use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells instead of Ultium battery cells, which use the present nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum (NCMA) chemistry. LFP batteries are reportedly less prone to thermal runaway and battery fire risk, and they are also significantly less expensive.
The Bolt will benefit from “a significantly cost-improved battery pack using purchased LFP cells,” according to Mary Barra, who also notes that the decision will lower production costs. “This will be our first employment of LFP technology in North America in the Ultium platform,” she added.
Instead of the present GM Lake Orion factory in Michigan, the new Chevy Bolt will probably be produced at the GM Fairfax plant in Kansas. As part of its new deal with the UAW, GM committed to investing $391 million in Fairfax to begin EV production there.
