GM is retiring another gas-powered car at its Kansas plant to clear room for the next-gen Chevy Bolt EV. The facility will soon house a new “family of Bolt models” as GM brings back the popular, low-cost EV.
GM is retiring the gas-powered Cadillac XT4
GM announced it will retire the gas-powered Cadillac XT4 SUV in January as it prepares to reintroduce the Bolt.
The XT4 is Cadillac’s cheapest SUV, starting at $41,990. However, sales are down 12% through the first nine months of 2024 after slipping 28% in Q4 2023.
GM already announced plans in May to retire the Chevy Malibu to make room at its Kansas plant for next-gen EVs, including the Bolt. The Malibu will be phased out this month after over 10 million models have been sold since 1964.
Although GM said XT4 production would begin again on the same line as the Bolt EV, a new Reuters report suggests that no longer appears to be the case.
The report claims GM will now only build Bolt models on the assembly line. Production of the previous Bolt ended at the end of 2023.
Chevy Bolt EV (Source: GM)
Since then, we’ve learned there will actually be several Bolt EV models. GM’s president, Mark Reuss, confirmed that the new model would be a part of “a family of Bolts,” including an even lower-priced model.
Reuss said prices will initially start slightly higher than the $28,785 MSRP on the previous model, but it will be an upgrade with faster charging.
Chevy Bolt EUV (Source: Chevrolet)
GM CEO Mary Barra claims the new Bolt will offer “an even better driving, charging, and ownership experience” with new tech. It will also be the first EV in the US to feature LFP batteries.
The company is expected to begin building next-gen Chevy Bolt EV models in late 2025 as a 2026 model year.
GM is investing $390 million in its Fairfax, Kansas plant to prepare it for re-introducing the next-gen Chevy Bolt EV.
Electrek’s Take
GM reached a milestone last month, selling its 300,000th EV in the US since 2016. The Chevy Bolt EV accounted for the great majority of those sales.
Chevy Bolt EV sales totaled 62,045 in 2023, 38,120 in 2022, 24,828 in 2021, 20,745, 16,418 in 2019, 18,019 in 2018, and 23,300 in 2017. In addition, another 8,582 have been sold in 2024. So, of the 300,000, over 212,000 of them were Bolt EVs.
The company is coming off a record 32,095 electric vehicles sold in the third quarter as its other Ultium-based EVs, including the new Chevy Blazer, Equinox, and Silverado EVs, are rolling out to dealers nationwide.
GM continues introducing lower-priced models, like the 2025 Equinox EV LT. Starting at $35,000, the company claims it’s the “most affordable EV in the US with +315 miles range.”
With the next-gen Chevy Bolt expected to be even more affordable, the new model could be GM’s biggest yet.
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America’s best-selling electric pickup may be headed for the chopping block. According to sources, Ford is now considering killing off the F-150 Lightning.
Is Ford canceling the F-150 Lightning electric pickup?
After Ford halted production of the electric pickup at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, earlier this year, it may never return to the assembly line.
Ford announced during its third-quarter earnings that F-150 Lightning production would remain paused after a fire at Novelis’ plant in New York disrupted aluminum supply.
The company said it would focus on gas and hybrid trucks, which are more profitable and require less aluminum.
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According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Ford’s electric pickup may be as good as dead. Citing sources close to the matter, the WSJ report claims Ford is now considering scrapping the F-150 Lightning altogether.
The move comes after Ford’s electric vehicle business, Model e, lost another $1.4 billion in Q3. Ford’s EV unit has now lost $3.6 billion through the first nine months of 2025.
Ford F-150 Lightning production at Rouge EV plant (Source: Ford)
Around $3 billion of the loss is due to its current EVs, such as the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E. The other $600 million is for investments in next-gen electric models.
Ford is shifting to smaller, more affordable electric cars with its Universal EV platform. The flexible, low-cost platform is key to unlocking more affordable EVs, which will start at around $30,000.
CEO Jim Farley presents the Ford Universal EV Platform in Kentucky (Source: Ford)
The first vehicle on the platform is expected to be a midsize electric pickup, similar in size to the Ford Maverick or Ranger. It’s set to roll out sometime in 2027.
CEO Jim Farley said during the company’s Q3 earnings call that $30,000 EVs are “not a distant plan,” adding they are “right around the corner” at Ford.
The F-150 Lightning is still America’s best-selling electric pickup, after Ford sold a record 10,000+ in Q3. Through October, Ford sold 24,577 F-150 Lightnings, slightly less than the 24,670 sold during the same period in 2024.
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In the spirit of SEMA week, Stellantis’ Chinese EV brand Leapmotor is getting some tuner cred from the German performance experts at Irmscher, delivering a 590 hp compact EV that should play well in both the Asian and European street scenes.
European regulators may be slapping heavier tariffs on Chinese EVs in an attempt to slow them down, but automakers like Stellantis-owned Leapmotor finding new ways to build momentum. The latest proof of that is a new, limited-edition Leapmotor i C10 SUV that was developed in and for the Chinese market, but that’s had its edge sharpened up for European roads through a partnership with German tuner Irmscher.
The first results of what is being called a long-term partnership is the Leapmotor i C10 by Irmscher, a limited run, 250 unit sports crossover built for the German market — and, with nearly six hundred hp on tap, the German autobahn, too!
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The Irmscher version of the i C10 features a more prominent rear spoiler and a new set of five-spoke alloy wheels wrapped in low-profile, high-performance rubber, sure, but the real magic lies beneath the car’s skin.
Irmscher has fitted a firmer suspension setup specifically engineered to sharpen the SUV’s handling, making it more suited to the Leapmotor’s already potent, dual-motor AWD powertrain. That powertrain remains largely unchanged, offering a hefty 590 hp (440 kW) for a zippy 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) sprints in under 4 seconds.
Built to move
Sharper, Sportier i C10 EV; via Stellantis.
The electric motors get power from an 81.9 kWh li-ion battery pack, good for an estimated range of 437 km (272 miles), positioning it as a performance-oriented variant of the standard crossover rather than a long-distance tourer (and, yes, I know what “GT” stands for, I’m just choosing to ignore the baked-in irony).
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Canadian heavy equipment dealer Nors and Volvo CE are kicking off the season of giving early, handing over the keys to a brand-new Volvo L25 Electric compact wheel loader to Habitat for Humanity!
Volvo CE’s donation to Habitat for Humanity Greater Toronto Area (Habitat GTA) marks the nonprofit’s first-ever electric construction machine. The asset will be put to work immediately on a 30-home affordable housing project in Brampton as a quiet, zero-emission alternative to diesel for the site’s preparation.
For the volunteers and staff at Habitat GTA, that fantasy of a quiet, fume-free job site is now a reality. “Much of our equipment is older than some of our volunteers” admitted Ene Underwood, CEO of Habitat GTA. This makes the electric Volvo loader a massive leap forward for the volunteers, proving that electric machines are ready to do real work right now, even for organizations operating on tight budgets — but you shouldn’t mistake the decision as pure charity.
The L25 Electric donation is just an opening salvo for Nors’ new “Compact Solutions, Community Impact” marketing campaign, and the company has already committed to donating two more Volvo CE electric machines to worthy organizations across Canada. “We’re … helping build a better world for future generations,” said Paul George of Nors.
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It’s a smart PR play, for sure, but it’s also a powerful, real-world demonstration program that puts its money where its mouth is and directly tackles the, “but I’ve never seen one!” barrier to battery electric equipment adoption.
As far as equipment goes, the Volvo L25 Electric is perfect for the infill development and residential lots where Habitat builds. As Agako Nouch of Volvo CE pointed out, the loader eliminates the noise and air quality issues that are major headaches when building in existing neighborhoods. It’s an example of how electrification can fundamentally improve the relationship between construction sites and the communities they serve.
Nors is inviting Canadians to nominate other nonprofits or municipalities that could benefit from an electric excavator or wheel loader. It’s a public consultation, not a contest, and the final two recipients will be announced on December 16th. It’s a genuine chance to put more electric iron to work where it can do the most good.
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