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The January Numbers are in.

10K views 47 replies 27 participants last post by  GJETSON 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Bolts were selling in 2017 at a rate that was approaching 3k per month.

The January number has dropped by almost 2/3 versus December.

That’s a huge drop.

Lots of posts on this forum reporting shortages, wonder if GM has throttled back production. If that’s the case it raises the question of whether GM really sees the Bolt as a mass market car, or just a low volume offering that will be limited to about 30k units a year.
 
#5 ·
If that’s the case it raises the question of whether GM really sees the Bolt as a mass market car, or just a low volume offering that will be limited to about 30k units a year.
That's exactly what it is, a low volume offering. It is not a mass market car and it will not be for at least another decade and by then it will be a totally different car. Likely not called the Bolt. There are just very, very few buyers willing to take on the advantages of the BEV as well as disadvantages and the price point still puts it above most buyer's idea of an affordable "commuter car" or second car.
 
#16 ·
1. The increase from Jan 2017 is not what would be expected from a car that is now much more widely available
2. The track cars delivered to end customer, not production

I think the upcoming release of the Leaf as well as growing production of the Tesla Model 3 are hurting sales.

GM is going to have to reduce the price substantially (> 10%) or start discounting even more.
 
#7 ·
The Bolt is between leftover 2017 models and the in-transit 2018 models. It is hard to sell a car that isn't on the dealer's lot... The numbers look bad, but the inventory is just not there. Fremont Chevrolet always had a ton in stock, but only this week got their 2018 models in. BTW, you can get a 2017 Bolt from Fremont Chevrolet for $32,000 from the quote on their website. You could probably even negotiate them further down. If I wasn't getting solar panels I would definitely do this. I could get the Bolt for under $20,000 including taxes and fees for that price in the Central Valley. It is definitely tempting.
 
#9 ·
BTW, you can get a 2017 Bolt from Fremont Chevrolet for $32,000 from the quote on their website. You could probably even negotiate them further down.
If this is the case, then this tells me the problem is not lack of inventory, but rather lack of demand. There is essentially no difference between a 2017 Bolt and a 2018 Bolt, so why would anyone pass up a 2017 and wait for an '18??
 
#11 ·
Here is what I have seen in the past 6 months

- Our rural dealerships nearby, who stocked 1-2 Bolts last summer, no longer have any.
- Nearer the Beltway, the Bolt inventories are down by half and the asking prices are 10% lower than last summer
- Bolts have disappeared from the roads ... saw only one in the past 2 months (used to see 2-3 times a month). Does it mean people don't like driving Bolts in winter?
- No new fast charging stations near me; two have gone bad and were discontinued, and the still functioning ones do not always work
- The more I look at the Leaf 2.0, the more skeptical I am about its mass appeal outside of the EV Nerdom and the compliance & ultra-high gas tax places. No dealerships in our area I have checked even mention the Leaf 2.0.
- The more I look at the actual passenger EV offerings vs. promises, the more I suspect everyone is kind of waiting for a miraculously miraculous miracle in the battery technology.
- Meanwhile, the Model 3 has somehow evolved from borderline vaporware into the best-selling EV in the US. Despite being late, not quite as "autonomous" as some people chose to believe, and selling blatantly 40% above the $35K bait price.

Twenty-seven month to go ...
 
#12 ·
- The more I look at the actual passenger EV offerings vs. promises, the more I suspect everyone is kind of waiting for a miraculously miraculous miracle in the battery technology.
This battery, with its lithium sulphur chemistry, is supposed to show up on the market later this year. Several different web publications recently reported on the breakthrough made with this chemistry by a group out of U of Waterloo (the original reports were actually from a few years ago). Probably not the one thing manufacturers are waiting on, but it shows there's some new developments coming to market. http://www.sionpower.com/technology-licerion.php
 
#14 ·
i signed the paperwork at 8:30pm on the 31st. The next morning when I ran my wife by to sign a few things, the sales guy mentioned to a black one next to me that was the last one. They had 5 on the 31st, and three weeks before their first 2018 gets here.

He claimed they were the largest east coast electric dealer outside of Florida here in Raleigh, NC. They had a great selection and he knew both Volt and Bolt inside and out.

I saw no reason to wait for a 2018, the hand warmer on the steering wheel is automatic now, that's the only diff on the preimer so hey, i'm good with a heavily incented 2017. Got that bright blue, would have loved an orange one but not enough to wait.
 
#23 ·
When reading this article, remember the source. SeekingAlpha has been bashing Tesla in article after article for months.

When it comes to Tesla, it seems that everyone has “picked a side”. SeekingAlpha is definitely not on Tesla’s.

Model 3 production is improving, whether it’s too little too late remains to be seen. I hope Tesla can pull it off, but a healthy skepticism is probably appropriate considering progress to date.
 
#26 ·
Who would want to buy a 2017 Bolt tucked somewhere in the back of the lot when it's 2018 already?
(I know there are minimal differences between the 2017 and 2018 models but I'm looking at it from a naive customer's standpoint)
It'll get better when 2018 models are really available in a couple months. Wonder why dealers didn't stock 2018 models in December...maybe it's because they had $0 revenue from 2017 Bolt owners.
 
#27 ·
My understanding is that the 2018 models are only now making it to dealers, which is why dealers weren’t stocking them back in December. You can’t sell what you don’t have.

The whole Bolt availability issue is a muddle. Nobody really knows what GM’s plan is for 2018. I suspect that GM may be aiming for about the same sales as last year, in the 25k - 30k range, and that they’re limiting production. It sure doesn’t look to me like GM is aggressively marketing the Bolt.
 
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#33 ·
Over the past week I've been interested in purchasing a Bolt. Enough so that I put a $500 deposit down on one last Thursday. Unfortunately the dealer and I are unable to reach an agreement on price. We're $500 off from one another.

Normally this wouldn't be an issue on a $38K vehicle, I'd just say let's split the difference and be done with it. However two concerns, I'm sure both of which have been said before, have really kept me from doing this:

  1. Range - Even with a 238 mile, under ideal conditions, range the Bolt has slightly over half the range of a typical ICE vehicle. Under less the ideal conditions the range deteriorates significantly.
  2. Time to recharge - Even with DC Fast Charging the time to replenish the battery to fuel range would be almost 90 minutes. This assumes the full capacity of DCFC is available through the entire charge time...which I've read is unlikely (impossible?)

The first concern wouldn't be much of an issue if it wasn't for the second concern (or vice-versa). I could live with a 238 (or reasonably less) mile range if I could replenish the battery in 5-15 minutes. Or I could accept a longer charge time if it meant I could achieve a 500 mile (for example) range.


I'm truly trying to give the Bolt a fair shake but the combination of these two concerns have kept me from making the plunge. I'm not saying I'm not going to do so (I love the technology and that's why I'd be buying one) but they are concerns I have (and, I assume, a lot of potential buyers).
 
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