For Chevrolet Bolt, Cheap Is Enough
The race for electric vehicle bragging rights may not be decided by superlatives after all. State-spanning battery range, lightning-fast charging and six-figure price tags all fell short in the most recent quarter — at least in terms of sales.
Instead, the humble Chevrolet Bolt, an earnest and relatively dated commuter EV, led the growing pack of Tesla-chasers, posting a record 14,709 in US unit sales in the three months ended Sept. 30. In comparison, Ford Motor sold 10,400 of its Mustang Mach-E in that time. Of course, the Bolt has one critical superlative to its credit: It is by far the cheapest EV on offer.
“It's essentially giving the people what they want — something affordable,” explained Edmunds analyst Ivan Drury. “When you've priced everything up — and every generation of vehicle is costing more and getting bigger — you leave a lot of space at the bottom.”
On price, the Bolt is zigging as its rivals zag. In June, General Motors slashed the car's starting price by about $6,000, setting the window-sticker on a bare bones Bolt just shy of $27,000. Even the prosaic Nissan Leaf is going for at least $1,000 more.
Meanwhile, rival automakers, including Ford Motor and Rivian, have raised prices on a rash of new EVs. They are also reserving precious production capacity for the fanciest, most expensive variants, packed with extra features. The average sticker price for battery-powered vehicles that shipped to dealerships in July was $61,251, according to Edmunds.
The Bolt was novel when it launched in 2016, but in today's field of electric show ponies, its inconspicuousness is its most discernible trait. The car is neither large nor fast; even in its utility variant, the so-called EUV, it resembles a teenager's
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