GM figured out how to navigate EV uncertainty with the Chevy Bolt

Die-hard Chevrolet Bolt fans rejoiced when General Motors announced it was bringing back a refreshed EV subcompact model to production.

The GM brand gave a lot of credit to its owners — and to Bolt’s sponsors within General Motors — for the car’s revival. But fandom alone does not launch a multi-million dollar program. Mathematicians must write with a pencil in more ways than one.

An analysis of GM’s business and market at the time of its approval shows what compelled the automaker to bring the Bolt.

It started with GM factory power. The US automaker had the opportunity to save at its Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas. The factory already produced the Chevy Malibu, which ability to create two years ago, and that it does not start production of the Chevy Equinox SUV until the middle of 2027 or the Buick Envisions until 2028. In that space went the Bolt.

Perhaps most important to the Bolt’s return was the greater availability of genuine EV parts, which helped lower the cost of the new model. It’s not built on a shiny new platform, instead relying on incremental improvements to improve the final product.

TechCrunch recently ran the new Bolt. It’s compelling enough showing that it will give GM the risk of selling EVs in the uncertain US market.

The 2017 Bolt was GM’s first dedicated EV in 20 years. collaboration with LG Chem (now LG Energy Solution) to produce the battery pack. The car got a new chassis that wasn’t redesigned like a combustion engine platform. None of those things are cheap.

Fast forward to today, and GM sells about a dozen electric models in the US across the Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC brands. This provided more parts and information to use in the development of the new Bolt.

For drivers, that influence is evident when they are in the car. The main screen houses the Android Automotive operating system, which is kept in mind to keep track of the battery status. This allows it to charge on the go and prepare the battery to charge as quickly as possible.

Under the hood, the new Bolt borrows the Chevy Equinox’s front-wheel drive. At 200 horsepower, it matches the previous generation exactly. But with 169 pound-feet of torque, it seems a little short. However, thanks to what GM has learned over the years, the new car accelerates faster and more efficiently, allowing Chevy to use a shorter gear in one direction. At the wheel, the engine emits almost the same as before.

The new motor combined with more efficient electronics means that the 2027 Bolt can travel up to 15 kilometers further than the previous Bolt EUV, the body type that the new model is based on.

GM hopes that the new Bolt it will be beneficialsomething that the old model struggled with.

The EV transition has not gone well for GM or for many other automakers. The company said in January that it would take a $6 billion charge due to slower-than-expected EV adoption. But GM has said it is still committed to making EVs. And so far, it has not changed its promise to phase out fossil fuel vehicles by 2035.

The downside to the new Bolt is that it’s a half-size, reworked version of the old model to squeeze more out of its loyal customers.

The new model should be seen as a cow for sharing technology and increased control. A 15-mile improvement from a new motor control system and batteries may not seem like much, but if GM can keep up the pace, the next decade could be a game-changer for the company and the EV market. Brand new platforms make big headlines, but not all of them require billions of dollars.