After shutting down Bolt EV and EUV production for almost seven months, Chevrolet today plans to release two commercials to relaunch its entry-level electric vehicles.
Steve Majoros, director of Chevrolet marketing, told reporters on April 6 that the ads are designed to "bring forward the broader Chevrolet EV message" and "put EV ownership angst at ease."
Debuting April 7, the opening day of the Major League Baseball season, the commercials are called "Mom" and "Life Changes."
The former shows a driver talking to his mother on the phone for nearly an hour while driving his 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV. The latter shows a Bolt technician explaining the ease of EV ownership to an expecting mother. Neither of the two spots mentions the recall, Majoros said.
"We are not minimizing or making light of the situation. We're going to always be humble. We're going to be sensitive. But we're not going to overplay that. We have done a lot of work with ... our owners."
In an effort to move past the recall related to battery fires, the brand says it expects media spending for the Bolt EVs to top that of all other nameplates except the Silverado pickup.
Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV production and shipments to dealers restarted this week after GM resolved the recall, which was caused by a defect in batteries supplied by LG Energy Solution. According to Majoros, some 800 vehicles in dealers' stock are available for sale this month.
The executive believes US sales of the Bolt EV and EUV could reach their highest ever this year, topping last year's 24,828—a record for the nameplate.
Before the recall, Chevrolet used to offer generous incentives for the Bolt, but Majoros says the automaker will lower the incentives going forward.
The Bolt recall came just as GM prepared to launch its next-generation EVs powered by its proprietary Ultium batteries. General Motors plans to launch 30 electric vehicle models worldwide and invest more than $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicle development through 2025.
