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.
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Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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As “extreme” weather events become more commonplace, the demand for reliable and portable energy continues to rise. In response to that growing demand for dependable off-grid power, Volvo has developed the new PU500 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed to take electrical power when it’s needed most.
Designed to be deployable in a number of environments at a moment’s notice, the Volvo Energy PU500 BESS is equipped with approximately 500 kWh of usable battery capacity (up to 540 kWh total). More than enough juice, in other words, to power a remote construction site, disaster response effort, or even a music festival – anything that needs access to reliable electricity beyond a grid connection.
That’s great, but what sets the PU500 apart from other battery storage solutions is its integrated 240 kW DC fast charger.
“With an integrated CCS2 charger, the PU500 is designed to work with all brands of electric equipment, trucks, and passenger cars,” says Niklas Thulin, Head of BESS Product Offer at Volvo Energy. “This ensures that no matter what type of electric vehicle or machinery you rely on, the PU500 can provide the power you need, making it a truly flexible solution for any grid constrained site or location.”
The integrated charger in the PU500 has the impressive ability to charge a heavy equipment asset (be that an electric semi truck or something like a wheel loader) in under two hours. Its on-board capacity allows to fully recharge up to 3 electric HD trucks or 20 electric cars per day, making it an incredibly versatile disaster response asset.
Electrek’s Take
As we often say over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, “just because you’re working for the power company doesn’t mean you have power,” and there are hundreds of scenarios where the extra power provided by something like the new PU500 would be useful. Its ability to be palletized and easily moved or swapped out of a larger BESS array, too, just add to its flexibility.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo.
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