The next-gen Chevy Bolt is finally almost here. GM confirmed that production is on track to begin by the end of the year, but the company is saying to keep a lookout for another affordable EV coming soon. Here’s what we know about the mysterious new model so far.
GM plans to build another affordable EV in the US
After revealing plans to invest around $4 billion over the next two years to ramp up production in the US, GM announced a new “next-gen affordable EV” was in development.
The new electric car will be built at its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas, alongside the next-gen Chevy Bolt EV. GM said the facility is on track to begin building 2027 Chevy Bolt EV models by the end of the year. It’s also planning to add the gas-powered Equinox to the mix in mid-2027.
Fairfax will be home to GM’s upcoming lineup of affordable EVs, starting with the next-gen Chevy Bolt. GM didn’t reveal any other details of the low-cost electric car, but it could be a part of a series of new Bolt models.
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Last year, GM’s president, Mark Reuss, revealed the 2027 Chevy Bolt EV will be part of a “family of Bolts,” including an even lower-priced version.
2022 Chevy Bolt EUV (Source: GM)
Although the initial model is expected to start slightly higher than the outgoing $28,785 MSRP of the outgoing Bolt, GM promises it will feature significant improvements.
GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, boasted the next-gen Bolt will offer “an even better driving, charging, and ownership experience.”
GM plans to build a “next-gen affordable EV) in Kansas (Source: GM)
It will also be the first Ultium-based model in North America to feature LFP batteries, enabling GM to offer it at lower prices.
Earlier this year, a covered vehicle was spotted in a lot filled with GM electric models, which appeared to be the new Bolt (check out the video here).
We should learn more about GM’s next-gen affordable EV as we get closer to launch. Check back for the latest.
Electrek’s Take
GM’s new $4 billion investment is designed to increase US production of both gas and electric vehicles as it looks to overcome Trump’s auto tariffs.
The new tariffs are already wreaking havoc on the US auto industry, with nearly every automaker adjusting production plans in some way.
Although GM is planning to launch another affordable EV following the Bolt, it already has one on the market that’s proving to be a hit.
The Equinox EV helped push Chevy past Ford to become the second-best-selling EV brand in the US earlier this year. GM said on Tuesday that Chevy sold over 37,000 EVs in the US through May, compared to 34,000 for Ford.
GM calls the electric Equinox “America’s most affordable 315+ mile range EV” with starting prices under $35,000.
Who would have thought that a long-range, lower-priced EV would sell? With a series of next-gen affordable EVs in the works, GM looks to close the gap with Tesla in the US EV market.
GM will soon offer an electric vehicle for everyone with entry-level (Chevy Bolt, Equinox EVs), midsize (Chevy Blazer EV), pickups (Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV), and luxury (Cadillac Lyrqi, Optiq, Vistiq, and Escalade IQ)
With 13 all-electric vehicles now on the market, GM has sold over 62,000 EVS in the US through May. Last month, the company announced it had surpassed Tesla to become the “#1 EV seller” in Canada in the first quarter.
We will learn more soon, with GM set to report Q2 sales on July 1. The company said this week that May was its second-best month to date for EV sales, so Q2 numbers should be interesting.
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U.S. President Donald Trump walks with North American Flat-Rolled Segment Senior Vice President and Chief Manufacturing Officer Scott Buckiso, Plant manager of Irvin and Fairless Plant Donald German and Mon Valley Works United Steel Corporation Vice President Kurt Barshick, as he visits U.S. Steel Corporation–Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 30, 2025.
Leah Millis | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. will have a “golden share” in U.S. Steel after its deal with Japan’s Nippon Steel closes.
“We have a golden stock. We have a golden share, which I control, or the president controls,” Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House. “That gives you total control.”
Trump said Americans would have 51% ownership of U.S. Steel without providing details on how the deal is structured.
Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick told CNBC last month that the U.S. will have a golden share that allows it to control a number of U.S. Steel board seats to ensure production levels aren’t cut.
“It’s a national security agreement that will be signed with the U.S. government,” McCormick told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on May 27.
But the White House, U.S. Steel and Nippon have left investors and union members in the dark for weeks now on what shape the deal will take and when it will be finalized.
Trump announced what he called a “planned partnership” between the two companies on May 23. The president’s statement created confusion because U.S. Steel has said since December 2023 that it will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon North America.
Trump had ordered a new review of the deal in April after President Joe Biden blocked the transaction in January. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States submitted a recommendation to Trump on May 21.
The president had 15-days to make a decision on the committee’s recommendation under the normal rules governing the process. But the White House, U.S. Steel and Nippon have not provided details on the status of the deal since the 15-day period ended last week.
The United Steelworkers union sent a letter to U.S. Steel last Friday demanding details about the deal.
“We have seen nothing credible regarding the nature of this so-called partnership, including whether it meaningfully differs from Nippon’s initial proposal to acquire U.S Steel and make it a wholly owned subsidiary,” the union said in a statement Friday addressed to its members.
Trump said U.S. Steel will be “controlled by the USA” during a rally at one of the company’s plants in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania on May 30. Shortly after the rally, however, the president said the deal had not been finalized yet.
“I have to approve the final deal with Nippon, and we haven’t seen that final deal yet,” Trump said.
The ID.2 is finally out for testing. Volkswagen’s new entry-level EV was spotted out in public, giving us our closest look at the production model so far.
Volkswagen’s entry-level ID.2 EV hits the road for testing
Although we caught a glimpse of the ID.2 last summer, new photos are emerging, offering a clearer view of what the production model will look like.
Volkswagen’s entry-level EV was spotted near the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany, revealing a few new design features we can expect to see.
The prototype is camouflaged in Polo body panels, but you can still see the ID.2 will remain close to the concept shown in 2023. A few slight differences are noticeable, such as the front and rear headlights, but it retains a similar overall appearance.
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At the LA Auto Show last year, VW’s tech development boss, Kai Grünitz, told Autocar that the brand’s “ID” lineup is due for a drastic overhaul. Grünitz explained that “huge improvements” are coming soon, starting with the ID.2 in 2026.
Volkswagen ID.2all entry-level EV (Source: Volkswagen)
The ID.2, which could arrive as the ID.Polo will start at under 25,000 euros ($29,000) in Europe next year, but prices could drop to as low as £20,000 when it arrives in the UK.
It will be based on the MEB+ platform, which will underpin Volkswagen’s upcoming lineup of entry-level EVs. The ID.2 will be offered with either a 38 kWh or 56 kWh battery pack, providing a range of up to 280 miles (450 km). VW said it will be able to recharge from 10% to 80% in just 20 minutes, with a peak charging capacity of up to 125 kW.
You can see from the new photos (via Autocar) that Volkswagen is looking to its past for influence with design elements borrowed from its classics, such as the Golf, Polo, and Beetle.
The interior retains most of the concept’s style with 12.9″ infotainment and 10.9″ driver display screens, but plenty of physical buttons are expected. Volkswagen added a fun new feature with different drive modes, which transforms the driver cluster to resemble that of an old-school Golf or Beetle.
Following the ID.2, Volkswagen plans to launch the SUV version and the even smaller, more affordable ID.1, expected to arrive in 2027.
Last month, SEAT S.A., which will lead VW’s new Electric Urban Car Family (entry-level EVs), announced it had produced the first body parts on the new PXL press that will be used for the new CUPRA Raval in 2026, followed by the production version of the Volkswagen ID.2. The first pre-series battery systems are also now rolling off the assembly line at the Group’s Martorell plant in Spain.
CEO of Chime, Chris Britt, center right, rings the opening bell during the company’s initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite on June 12, 2025 in New York City.
Andres Kudacki | Getty Images
Chime opened at $43 in its Nasdaq debut on Thursday after selling shares at $27 each in an IPO that valued the online banking company at $11.6 billion.
Late Wednesday, Chime raised about $700 million in its offering, and existing investors sold an additional $165 million worth of shares. The stock is trading under the ticker symbol CHYM.
Chime’s IPO, from a valuation perspective, represents a big step down from where venture investors like Sequoia Capital valued the company in its last fundraising round in 2021, when private tech markets were raging. The valuation at the time was $25 billion.
Still, Chime’s offering is the latest sign that the fintech IPO market is opening up after a multi-year freeze brought on by rising interest rates and valuation resets. Recent debuts from eToro and crypto company Circle have rekindled optimism in the sector, with both stocks seeing strong initial pops.
Chime reported $518.7 million in revenue for the most recent quarter, a 32% increase from a year earlier. Net income narrowed slightly to $12.9 million, down from $15.9 million in the same period last year.
CEO Chris Britt said Chime has built a loyal user base by serving Americans earning $100,000 a year or less, a group often overlooked by traditional banks.
“Two-thirds of our customer base use us as their direct deposit account and primary account relationship,” Britt told CNBC’s David Faber.“We help our members avoid fees, get access to short-term liquidity, build their credit and build their savings — and it’s that combination of services that really resonates and matters most to the everyday consumer.”
Britt said the company reached $25 million in adjusted profitability in the first quarter and has improved its adjusted profit margin by 40 points over the past two years.
The company’s top institutional shareholders are DST Global and Crosslink Capital. Iconiq was one of the firms that invested six years ago, when Chime raised money at a $1.5 billion valuation.
“We first invested in Chime in 2019 and continued to invest through subsequent rounds because of their singular, unwavering focus on serving everyday Americans — and the trust they’ve built with that core customer base,” Yoonkee Sull, general partner at Iconiq, said in an interview.
The average Chime customer completes more than 55 transactions per month using the Chime card and interacts with the app four to five times a day. Active member growth rose 23% in the first quarter from a year earlier, Britt said, with 8.6 million monthly active users and an increasing number turning to Chime to serve as their primary banking relationship.
Customer acquisition doesn’t come cheap. Chime disclosed in its prospectus that it spent $1.4 billion on marketing between 2022 and 2024. Britt said the retention rate is above 90% once users set up direct deposit.
“Sometimes for people, it takes a change in life — a change in their career, a job change — to be the point in time when they actually make the switch and use us as a primary bank account,” he said.
The company’s core revenue comes from interchange fees, the charges merchants pay when consumers swipe Chime-issued debit or credit cards. Britt said 72% of Chime’s revenue is payments-driven, versus traditional banks that rely heavily on fees from overdrafts and minimum balances.
“It’s pretty simplistic,” said Dan Dolev, an analyst at Mizuho. “I’m actually surprised by how unsophisticated that business model is.”
Chime’s performance in the public markets may set the tone for what comes next. Several other fintech players, including Klarna, Gemini, and Bullish, have already filed for IPOs publicly or confidentially.
“If it goes well — and you’ll know that in the next two to three months — I think you’ll see much more receptivity” from other companies in the pipeline, said David Golden, partner at Revolution Ventures and former head of tech investment banking at JPMorgan Chase.
“If it doesn’t go well,” Golden added, “I think they’ll continue just to sit on their hands and wait it out.”
Chime is a five-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company, having made the annual list from 2020-2024.