The recent announcement about General Motors' investment in the Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan to produce electric pickups fueled doubts about the future of the Chevrolet Bolt EV/Chevrolet Bolt EUV models.
The duo has been affected by a massive battery recall, which forced halting production, currently extended to at least the end of February. All of the batteries that GM can obtain from LG Energy Solution are redirected for recall purposes.
Potentially, it will take a lot of time to replace all of the batteries, as the deficit is up to over 9 GWh (assuming roughly 142,000 cars).
By the time the recall is solved, the company might be well advanced with the launch of its new Ultium-based models, including the all-new Chevrolet Equinox EV (in Fall 2023).
The entry-level MSRP price of around $30,000 is lower than the current MSRP for the Bolt EV, which would put serious pressure on the Bolts.
According to Automotive News article, there is a risk that once the new pickups (Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV) will enter production at the Orion Assembly plant in 2024, the Bolts will retire.
"GM President Mark Reuss said Orion will have capacity to build 360,000 pickups annually when fully ramped up.
Bolt output will continue as the automaker converts Orion for electric pickup production, but Reuss said GM had nothing to announce related to the Bolt's future beyond that."
The article refers to AutoForecast Solutions, which expects that GM will discontinue the Bolt EV in 2023 and the Bolt EUV in 2024.
Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, pointed out that the small size of the Bolts is not too popular and the progress of the Ultium tech, both in terms of price and range, might prompt the company to discontinue the Bolts or replace them, maybe with a smaller version of the Equinox EV.
Chevrolet Bolt EV/EUV offer
Prices
| Model | Base Price | Dest. Charge | Tax Credit | Effective Price |
| 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV | $31,000 | +$995 | N/A | $31,995 |
| 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV | $33,000 | +$995 | N/A | $33,995 |
Basic specs
| Model | Drive | Battery (kWh) | EPA Range | 0-60 mph (sec) |
| 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV | FWD | 65 | 259 mi (417 km) | 6.5* |
| 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV | FWD | 65 | 247 mi (397 km) | 7.0* |
* estimated/unofficial values
