GM bumps Chevy Bolt pricing, but the increase is lower than expected

GM has announced a price bump on the 2023 Chevy Bolt EV and EUV, citing higher production costs. But the increase is lower than expected and lower than price increases across the rest of the industry, meaning Electrek’s Vehicle of the Year is still a screaming deal.

After announcing a ~$6,000 price drop in the middle of last year, GM has now bumped the price of the Bolt back up a little bit. But the increase is less than expected and less than we’re seeing in a lot of the industry.

The Chevy Bolt now starts at $26,500, up $900 from its previous base price. The EUV got a smaller increase of $600, up to a base price of $27,800. Both models are subject to a $995 destination fee on top of these prices.

The price rise comes just a few days after the Bolt regained eligibility for the US federal EV tax credit due to the Inflation Reduction Act. This tax credit allows buyers to claim a nonrefundable $7,500 credit on their federal taxes after buying an EV. Originally, it was thought that the Bolt would only qualify for $3,750, but when the IRS pushed back its implementation of some battery guidelines, that made the Bolt eligible for the full $7,500 for the time being.

Even after this price rise, the Bolt remains the cheapest EV available in America. The next-cheapest is the base model Nissan Leaf, at $28,040. The Leaf is also manufactured in America, which means it qualifies for the federal EV tax credit as well.

Here’s a list of cars that qualify for the EV tax credit – foreign-assembled cars only qualify if they are leased, not purchased.

GM emailed us a statement, and said it has “nothing planned beyond what we’ve announced” in terms of price increases:

Due to ongoing industry-related pricing pressures, the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV will see modest price increases starting in 2023, but we expect it to remain America’s most affordable EV. Chevrolet remains committed in its long-standing role to provide true value. We expect to continue building the record sales momentum we saw in 2022. 

The Chevy Bolt is the first of GM’s modern EVs, first introduced in the 2017 model year. Since then, GM has implemented a new battery platform called “Ultium” which underpins its future EV offerings. The Bolt doesn’t use Ultium, which means it will eventually disappear from the product lineup as GM unifies its offerings under its new battery platform.

Electrek’s Take

Many thought that the implementation of these credits would result in a price hike for the Bolt, but today’s increase of less than a thousand dollars is much lower than expected, especially given the massive price cut the cars got mid-last-year and the increases we’re seeing across the industry.

Which means the Bolt is still a screaming deal – at least until March.

In addition, there are thousands of additional dollars worth of stackable deals that some buyers can take advantage of:

We still love this car, not only because it’s so low-priced, but because it’s a well-made EV with a five-star safety rating and premium features like Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto – though we would like it more if it had faster DC charge speed.

So if you’re looking for an EV, especially in the next couple months, this price bump doesn’t change our recommendation. While there are better EVs out there, the Bolt promises a lot of bang for your buck, and after tax credits and other incentives, for the right buyer it can be even cheaper than the cheapest gas car in America. It seems like a no-brainer to us. So, if you’ve been thinking about getting an EV, reach out to your local dealers and see if you can find a Bolt at near MSRP (which could be a rough task, since EV demand is so high right now). And regardless, consult a tax professional to make sure that you’ll qualify for these credits.

If you’d like, you can use our links to contact your local dealers about the 2023 Chevy Bolt EV or 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV and see if they have any in stock for delivery before “sometime in March,” when the EV tax credit is expected to be cut in half.