This week, GM said it’s pushing back Silverado EV production by a year; which gives it a perfect opportunity to extend the life of the Bolt in its best year of sales yet.
But what does all this have to do with the Bolt, you ask?
Well, the Bolt is produced in the same plant, GM’s Orion Assembly in Lake Orion, Michigan, that GM had planned to produce the SIlverado EV in. That’s why the Bolt is going out of production – to make room for new lines that incorporate GM’s new Ultium battery platform, which the Bolt doesn’t use as it predates that platform. Since the Bolt is on old technology, GM plans to retire it (though after much urging, GM said it would make an Ultium-based Bolt).
But the Bolt is also having its best year yet, already having sold a record number of cars this year with another quarter yet to go. And despite higher production than ever, it’s still sold out everywhere, because it’s a fantastic deal at a base MSRP of $26k. It is also good enough to win Electrek’s Vehicle of the Year award in this last year of its existence.
So it was good news when GM decided to continue production through December, but now that the plant won’t be upgraded for another year, why not extend it even longer?
Surely tooling for the Silverado will take some time so GM won’t get a full extra year of production out of the Bolt, but they’ve already got the lines running for the Bolt, so why not keep them running for a few months longer? And let a few tens of thousands of EV fans get access to a great deal on a car that’s been hard to find all year.
This would require a lot of coordination with suppliers on GM’s part, who have already extended a date once. So it’s not as easy as just continuing to run the lines, but we still think there’s a valuable end goal here, in letting more people get access to a great car and showing how great and affordable EVs can be.
We’d love to see more Bolts out there, both because it’s a great car (though with the one major downside of slow 50kW DC charging) and because it’s a fantastic deal. And if GM did continue production through next year, that deal would be even better given the planned improvement to the Federal EV tax credit.
Next year, the credit will be available upfront at the point-of-sale, which means buyers won’t have to wait until filing their taxes to get the refund anymore. It also means that low- and middle-income buyers can benefit from the full credit, instead of having that amount reduced if they don’t have $7,500 in total tax liability.
Both of these aspects would combine to make the Bolt, currently the most affordable EV and one of the most affordable new cars of any type on the road, an even more fantastic deal for more people. If new Bolts were still available in 2024 at a starting price of ~$19k (and even less after some state rebates), it would really make a statement about the affordability of EVs in general.
And so, we think this is an excellent chance for GM to extend the life of the best deal in EVs (and, honestly, in the whole auto industry), and their best-selling EV, in its best-selling year, going into a time that would be particularly advantageous for a value EV, in a plant that it doesn’t seem like it will be using anyway. Pretty please, GM?
If you’re looking to take advantage of the best deal in EVs right now before it goes out of production (though we hope it doesn’t…), 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 left in stock.
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The all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ was an Electrek favorite when it first made its debut two years ago. Now, LYRIQ buyers who have been waiting for a deal can score more than $10,500 in discounts on the Ultium-based Caddy.
Our own Seth Weintraub said that GM had come in, “a year early and dollar long at $60K” when he first drove the Ultium-based Cadillac LYRIQ back in 2022. He called the SUV “a stunner,” too, heaping praise on the LYRIQ’s styling inside and out before adding that the EV’s ride quality really impressed on long journeys.
Well, if the first mainstream electric Cadillac was a winner at its original, $57,195 starting price (rounded up to $60K for easy math), what could we call it at $10,500 less?
That’s a question that’s suddenly worth asking, thanks to huge GM discounts on the LYRIQ that prompted the automotive pricing analysts at CarsDirect to name the 2024 LYRIQ one of the industry’s “Best New Car Deals” this month:
A slew of incentives can enable you to save big on a 2024 Cadillac LYRIQ. First, EVs eligible for the federal tax credit qualify for $7,500 in Ultium Promise Bonus Cash from GM. Additionally, competing EV owners can score $3,000 in conquest cash.
With more than 100 kWh of battery capacity and 300-plus miles of real-world driving range (plus available 190 kW charging capability) the Cadillac LYRIQ ticks all the boxes – but you don’t have to take just my word for that.
A global shortage of qualified operators is impacting job sites everywhere, precisely at a time when demand for housing, mineral mining, and renewable energy construction is going from peak to peak. That’s why companies from Caterpillar to Tesla to Einride are pushing to advance autonomy the way they are.
First revealed as a concept in 2021, Volvo CE’s CX01 autonomous “single drum” asphalt roller concept has seen continuous development in the years since. Making its Volvo Days debut, the CX01 has shed the original single drum design for a “split drum,” with each half being controlled by an internalized, independent electric motor.
The CX01’s electric motors not only help to propel and steer the roller, they also vibrate the drums individually, using some trick software calibration to effectively “cancel each other out,” delivering all the benefits of vibrating drum rollers without the noise.
It’s so smart, you guys
It’s also worth noting that the CX01 is something of an “extended range” EV, instead of a “pure” BEV. That’s because it uses a small, 1.4L diesel engine to spin a generator that powers not batteries, but capacitors (those blue things, above right). Those capacitors can be charged on grid power (or from an accompanying TC13 trench compactor), but they’re much better than batteries at releasing energy really quickly, enabling the diesel to operate at its maximum efficiency while maintaining extremely precise, high-torque movement from the motors.
Volvo CE engineers envision a team CX01 rollers units deployed on larger job sites that could work together and communicate with other pieces of equipment on the site. The connected equipment could help survey the job site, report on the conditions of the mat (density, temperature, and passes), and leverage AI to determine when and where to compact without the need for human operators.
All of which is great, sure – but they had me at “giant OneWheel.”
Volvo TA15 autonomous electric haul truck
Volvo TA15 autonomous haul truck; photo by the author.
Part of Volvo CE’ “TARA” line of autonomous products, the “production ready” TA15 autonomous electric haul trucks are already part of a number of pilot programs on Volvo customer job sites. Being autonomous, they’re ideally suited to performing repetitive routes, dozens of times per day, without exposing human operators to fatigue or injury.
“TARA enables you to downsize and replace larger diesel-powered vehicles with a fleet of autonomous electric Volvo TA15s capable of running 24/7,” reads the official TARA release. “This not only helps you cut emissions and increase productivity, it will also help you rightsize your machinery and optimize your hauling routes.”
And that brings us to the real topic at hand: sustainability.
Electrek’s Take
Volvo SD110 single drum roller, via Volvo CE.
As we’ve often discussed on The Heavy Equipment Podcast, there are two types of sustainability, and both are important. The first is the “classic” version of sustainability, in that our choices need to sustain the planet and environment we live in. The second is sustainability of the business – the ability to keep doing business in a way that ensures the survival of the business, itself.
Looking at the conventional Volvo SD110 conventional roller, above, you can see the incredible amount of materials – of steel, rubber, plastic, glass, etc. – that simply isn’t needed to produce the CX01 roller we started this article with.
All that added mass has a massive hidden carbon cost. The cost of getting those materials out of the ground, the need for bigger, heavier roads to support the weight of the machine, and the bigger, burlier trucks and trailers needed to transport it. Heck, even the operator’s commute to and from the job site adds to the carbon cost of the SD110, over and above the harmful emissions from its diesel engine’s exhaust stack.
The CX01? It’s objectively more sustainable than the SD110 roller in every way, and does pretty much the same job.
Following successful inbound implementations in the Pacific Northwest, North Carolina, and Mexico, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is expanding the reach of its electric semi fleet into Arizona with long-time associate JB Hunt.
JB Hunt will add the new Freightliner eCascadia electric semi to its Arizona fleet immediately, and put it to work delivering aftermarket truck parts from DTNA’s parts distribution center (PDC) in Phoenix to multiple DTNA dealers along a dedicated route.
The electric Freightliner truck is expected to cover approximately 100 miles in a given day before heading “home” to a Detroit eFill charger installed at Daimler’s Phoenix facility.
“This solution with DTNA is a great example of our commitment to supporting customers’ efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and work towards energy transition,” explains Greer Woodruff, executive vice president of safety, sustainability and maintenance at JB Hunt. “JB Hunt owns and operates several eCascadias on behalf of customers, and our drivers have really enjoyed their in-cab experience. As customer interest continues to grow, we are here to enable their pursuit for a more sustainable supply chain in the most economic means possible.”
Daimler is analyzing future expansion opportunities throughout its internal parts distribution and logistics with an eye on electrifing additional routes and further reducing the carbon footprint of its logistics operations.