The Chevrolet Bolt Will Be A 200-Mile Electric Tesla Fighter

[cove3]

http://jalopnik.com/the-chevrolet-bolt-will-be-a-200-mile-electric-tesla-fi-1678649485

The Chevrolet Bolt Will Be A 200-Mile Electric Tesla Fighter For $30,000. Due 2017. The Tesla 3 is due around the same time at 35,000 but recent articles suggest it will be closer to 50,000. Also, I assume other manufacturers eg e-Golf, i3, Leaf are all working on 200 mile cars for the same time frame, and with probably greater economies of scale, especially if they leverage off a common platform like VW .

It appears to be lithium ion battery rather than some breakthrough chemistry, so unless there's some big weight savings, it seems like it's just the Tesla solution.....a lot more batteries but also a lot more weight, which means the current 80 mile vehicles may not be obsoleted

Makes for an interesting battle brewing.

Ron

 

[cove3]

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096238_chevrolet-bolt-concept-200-mile-30000-electric-car-concept-live-video-photos

1. Looks somewhat similar to the i3 but with full rear doors
2. Not clear if 30,000 includes 7500 tax credit. Since this expires in 2015, GM would be sticking its neck out to include it but at that price hard to believe they didn't.
3. No indication if any part is carbon fiber or aluminum. One video claimed lightweight materials
4. Most important, no weight or indication if 200 miles is achieved with simply a bigger battery. One video claimed advanced battery technology
5. Could be available Nov/Dec 2017
6. Market for pure ev is getting pretty crowded and will put huge pressures on Tesla's Model 3 volume assumptions, especially if Tesla can't make it for 35K as many have suggested

Ron

 

[GetOffYourGas]

2. Not clear if 30,000 includes 7500 tax credit. Since this expires in 2015, GM would be sticking its neck out to include it but at that price hard to believe they didn't.

$30,000 price absolutely includes the tax credit: http://insideevs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Chevrolet-Bolt-EV-concept-from-NAIAS-stage-berra-4.jpg

2017 is looking to be a breakout year for the EV. Other than the Bolt, the Leaf 2.0 will be out with ~150 miles of range, the Tesla Model III will be out (or close to it), and I have heard that VW wants to get the eGolf up to about 160 miles range by then.

The big differentiator will be quick charging. All will have some sort of a port, but only Tesla currently has an intelligently planned network. The CHAdeMO (Leaf, Soul EV) network is growing, but haphazardly. I'm personally a fan of the SAE CCS system that the eGolf uses (and the Bolt presumably will), but that seems stagnant. Maybe a few automakers will get behind rolling it out in a big way in the next couple of years.