[Dimitrij]

I remember when the Bolt came out a well-paid person from GM said they'd be planning on building 25K, perhaps up to 30K Bolts/Ampera-e's a year. In 2017 and 2018 they indeed manufactured about 25K Bolts/year, selling mostly in the US, Canada and Korea.

In 2019, in absence of radical updates in the 2020 Bolt, and in anticipation of the Bolt EUV, I do not expect more than 16K Bolts to sell in the US, followed by maybe 2.5K units in Canada, perhaps 3K in Korea and maybe another few hundred here and there = 22K Bolts, which is like 15% below what it was in 2018. Would GM reduce the production, or allow the inventories to build, or maybe start pushing for entirely new (for the Bolt) markets ... surely, there must be a way of selling Bolts in Europe and Japan through some kind of a partnership? I heard that Brazil is the next target market, but if the example of Mexico is anything to go by, it will not be a lucrative opportunity.

Or maybe all we "know" about the 2020 Bolt is just a speculation, and come September we can set our eyes on a meaningfully updated Bolt (remember that survey GM circulated a year or so ago about the "winterized" version), which may tilt the board towards the Bolt again.

 

[PhilBo]

Based on this article don't expect any major changes for the 2020 Bolt.

Why GM Fails to Impress with Official 2020 Chevy Bolt EV Updates and Changes | Torque News

The confirmed fleet order changes and improvements for the 2020 Chevy Bolt EV don’t address the primary concerns of drivers or the rising competition from other long-range electric vehicles.

www.torquenews.com

 

[Vertiformed]

In some sense, obviously I'd love to see GMs EVs take some steps forward (e.g., more range, faster charging rates) and see the car have some features people are used to (electric seat adjustment, adaptive cruise control, etc). But there is a little bit of a silver lining to the stagnation…

For one thing, there is no guarantee at all that whatever comes next out of GM will be a car I want. They may discontinue the Bolt and instead make some monstrous Cadillac e-SUV that doesn't resonate with me at all.

As an owner of a 2017 Bolt, it doesn't harm me at all if little changes in the new models. I won't be in the market for a new car for a good few years yet, and staying the same means my Bolt doesn't look like a dinosaur next to newer models and gives a longer window of part availability.

My Bolt isn't even two years old yet, and since I own rather than lease, it'll be a good few years (I hope) before I'm back in the market for an EV. I'm hopeful that by 2025 or so, the EV market has a lot more going on. We'll see.

 

[psyflyjohn]

Actually one of the primary reasons I purchased two Bolts was the lack of model changes every year. I hate feeling outdated with a 1 year old car. Given the continued lack of changes and the good reliability of the Bolt, I feel I made the right decision...

 

[Vertiformed]

Actually one of the primary reasons I purchased two Bolts was the lack of model changes every year. I hate feeling outdated with a 1 year old car. Given the continued lack of changes and the good reliability of the Bolt, I feel I made the right decision...

I guess the flipside of that is those who didn't buy yet and were waiting hoping for something better. For them, buying a car that's pretty-much unchanged since 2016 may not feel so good because their waiting strategy didn't pan out.

 

[hatchy]

The longer the run, the better parts availability will be. Specifically with a small production numbers model like Bolt.. Camry they could probably update the body panels every 3 months and it wouldn't be an issue.

 

[wesley]

In 2019, in absence of radical updates in the 2020 Bolt, and in anticipation of the Bolt EUV, I do not expect more than 16K Bolts to sell in the US, followed by maybe 2.5K units in Canada, perhaps 3K in Korea and maybe another few hundred here and there = 22K Bolts, which is like 15% below what it was in 2018. Would GM reduce the production, or allow the inventories to build, or maybe start pushing for entirely new (for the Bolt) markets ... surely, there must be a way of selling Bolts in Europe and Japan through some kind of a partnership? I heard that Brazil is the next target market, but if the example of Mexico is anything to go by, it will not be a lucrative opportunity.

I do not expect GM to sell Bolt EV in Japan for many reasons. One, the charging standard in use is almost exclusively CHAdeMO. AFAIK, Bolt EV has only used CCS, and mostly Type 1 at that (North America and South Korea).

Two, GM can only sell about a thousand cars total every year in that market. This news report says GM, Ford, and Chrysler sold 2,512 cars combined in 2018.

Japanese Import Sales Grow Again in 2018

In its 2018 sales report, the Japan Automobile Importers Assn. reports Mercedes-Benz was the top import brand for the third straight year on sales of 67,531 units, followed by Volkswagen (51,961) and BMW (50,982).

www.wardsauto.com

Based on these situations, I see little reason for GM to try making and selling CHAdeMO-equipped Bolt EV for the Japanese market.

As for the Korean market, GM has supposedly allocated 7,000 Bolts for this year. Unfortunately, Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro have dominated the market and the total sales of Bolt for 2019 sits in third place at 1,972 as of the end of July. This is in contrast to 9,225 for Kona and 4,741 for Niro. So it is quite possible that the total sales could be in the 3k range unless GM can prop up some good ideas. Now, if it can somehow hit the planned 7k target, then the surplus issue would be resolved.

 

[KeithMoon]

GM sells a lot of cars in China. I'd expect to see a Buick badged EV on the Bolt platform soon.

Oh wait... Thanks trump.

 

[wesley]

GM sells a lot of cars in China. I'd expect to see a Buick badged EV on the Bolt platform soon.

Oh wait... Thanks trump.

Regardless of the political issues, China's charging standard being proprietary (GB/T) would prevent sales of Bolt EVs in its current form unless some sort of CCS-GB/T adapter was supplied. I suppose a future Buick-branded EV wouldn't have this problem, but as far as Bolts are concerned GM better come up with ways to sell them better in the existing markets.

 

[Dimitrij]

I do not expect GM to sell Bolt EV in Japan for many reasons. One, the charging standard in use is almost exclusively CHAdeMO. AFAIK, Bolt EV has only used CCS, and mostly Type 1 at that (North America and South Korea).

Two, GM can only sell about a thousand cars total every year in that market. This news report says GM, Ford, and Chrysler sold 2,512 cars combined in 2018.

Japanese Import Sales Grow Again in 2018

In its 2018 sales report, the Japan Automobile Importers Assn. reports Mercedes-Benz was the top import brand for the third straight year on sales of 67,531 units, followed by Volkswagen (51,961) and BMW (50,982).

www.wardsauto.com

Based on these situations, I see little reason for GM to try making and selling CHAdeMO-equipped Bolt EV for the Japanese market.

As for the Korean market, GM has supposedly allocated 7,000 Bolts for this year. Unfortunately, Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro have dominated the market and the total sales of Bolt for 2019 sits in third place at 1,972 as of the end of July. This is in contrast to 9,225 for Kona and 4,741 for Niro. So it is quite possible that the total sales could be in the 3k range unless GM can prop up some good ideas. Now, if it can somehow hit the planned 7k target, then the surplus issue would be resolved.

How are the new Soul EV and the Ioniq EV doing these days in KR?

 

[Dimitrij]

GM sells a lot of cars in China. I'd expect to see a Buick badged EV on the Bolt platform soon.

Oh wait... Thanks trump.

1. In China, SAIC-GM joint venture sells a Chinese-made, Buick-badged EV called Velite 6.
2. Now that you have determined the reason why the Bolt doesn't sell in China, remind us please who the president of the country, building most Teslas, is (no, Whorebachev is not the right answer).

 

[wesley]

How are the new Soul EV and the Ioniq EV doing these days in KR?

Good question! Sales of Soul and Ioniq for 2019 have totaled 1,236 and 1,119 up to July, respectively. Not as well as some have expected. The refreshed Ioniq came out in May, so that's roughly 500 units and the monthly sales have been slightly lower than that of Bolt EV here. Given that its rated drivable range is sub-300km {277km (172 miles) as per me.go.kr standards} it's not doing too bad, in a way.

 

[KeithMoon]

(no, Whorebachev is not the right answer).

Pretty sure that is exactly the right answer.

 

[KeithMoon]

Regardless of the political issues, China's charging standard being proprietary (GB/T) would prevent sales of Bolt EVs in its current form unless some sort of CCS-GB/T adapter was supplied. I suppose a future Buick-branded EV wouldn't have this problem, but as far as Bolts are concerned GM better come up with ways to sell them better in the existing markets.

Yeah, I was pointing out that (in the absence of the current trade war) the Bolt platform could be sold into China effectively by GM. There would be a lot of commonalities that would reduce costs for bothe vehicles. When building a vehicle for another market, I think a connector type is probably the least of the concerns.

 

[SparkE]

China and Japan are working on CHAdeMO 3, which would work/be compatable with CHAdeMO2 and GB/T (with adapters). So the "gee the plug doesn't work" is about to be a non-issue. (As if shipping a vehicle with a different charge plug is difficult ...)

 

[Dimitrij]

Good question! Sales of Soul and Ioniq for 2019 have totaled 1,236 and 1,119 up to July, respectively. Not as well as some have expected. The refreshed Ioniq came out in May, so that's roughly 500 units and the monthly sales have been slightly lower than that of Bolt EV here. Given that its rated drivable range is sub-300km {277km (172 miles) as per me.go.kr standards} it's not doing too bad, in a way.

I would have expected the Soul to perform better than the borderline stillborn Ioniq, but guess not everyone likes chukka boot shaped autos

Interesting

Pretty sure that is exactly the right answer.

Then how does Musk sell his Teslas to China?