Chevrolet Bolt Start Of Production Set For October 2016?

[mark111]

It’s a classic case of now you see it…now you don’t.

Fortunately, Hybrid Cars was able to capture the now you see it part, which suggests that the Chevrolet Bolt electric car could enter production starting in October 2016.

As Hybrid Cars points out, General Motors’ 2017 Fleet Guide initially listed Start Of Regular Production (SORP) for the Bolt at Orion assembly as October of this year (see image below) – exactly where it was expected.

http://insideevs.com/chevrolet-bolt-enter-production-october-2016/

 

[NeilBlanchard]

By all indications, they are on track to start selling the Bolt EV on time.

 

[jhm614]

Does this mean it will begin to hit the non-CARB states in early 2017? Or better yet, when we will start to see them in Texas? I want to test drive one! This, Leaf 2.0 and maybe the Smart Car are on my short list.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

They definitely will be selling it n all 50 states, but I don't know if it will be a staged roll out, or if they ship to all states right away. They will be selling them overseas, as well.

 

[Aidan]

In anticipation of avoiding production delays they have hired 1200 more workers

 

[Aidan]

Looking forward to the all-electric all efficient Chevy Bolt

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Looking forward to the all-electric all efficient Chevy Bolt

We'll see how efficient it is. Almost guaranteed to be more efficient than the Model III - the Model S/X are the least efficient EVs you can buy. Probably not as efficient as the German EVs though. The i3 is the most efficient car on the market, and the eGolf is up there, too.

Unfortunately, that tall/short design is going to make it less efficient on the highway. And highway driving is what you'd expect for a 200-mile trip. Nobody drives 200 miles in the city. If this car only gets 150 miles on the highway, I think many people will be disappointed.

 

[DucRider]

Looking forward to the all-electric all efficient Chevy Bolt

We'll see how efficient it is. Almost guaranteed to be more efficient than the Model III - the Model S/X are the least efficient EVs you can buy. Probably not as efficient as the German EVs though. The i3 is the most efficient car on the market, and the eGolf is up there, too.

Unfortunately, that tall/short design is going to make it less efficient on the highway. And highway driving is what you'd expect for a 200-mile trip. Nobody drives 200 miles in the city. If this car only gets 150 miles on the highway, I think many people will be disappointed.

The EPA rating will be slightly north of 200 (I'm guessing 215). That test cycle has a mix of city, freeway and hot/cold driving. Freeway range will be less than the EPA number. You'll be able to estimate the impact by looking at the combined/city/highway MPGe. (i.e the 30 kWh LEAF is 112 MPGe combined, 124 city, 101 highway.

Note: there will be large differences between 55, 65 & 75 mph. I certainly hope nobody buys/leases a Bolt with the expectation that they can do 75 on the freeway in 40 degree, rainy weather and get anywhere near 200 miles of range.

Different cars will have differing results, but some good rules of thumb:

"Expect the rated range at 55mph in good weather and relatively flat road conditions (significantly more if you slow down). Deduct 1/4 if you want to go 70mph. And, worst case, deduct up to 1/3 in extreme weather for heat and/or A/C."

"Driving at 70 mph vs 55 mph will result in a 25% drop in range"

"Drop your expected range 10% for every 5 mph over 75"

 

[SeanNelson]

If this car only gets 150 miles on the highway, I think many people will be disappointed.

I'm not too worried. I get better actual city and highway fuel economy driving my Prius C than its EPA ratings, largely because I rarely drive above the speed limit and generally stick to no more than 55 or 60mph. I drive conservatively in the city and save fuel by slowing down in advance of red lights to avoid stopping and accelerating gently. I've always driven that way because I hate wasting gas.

On my recent trip from British Columbia to and around southern California and back I averaged 4.3 l/100km (as measured at the pump) compared to the EPA ratings of 4.5 city / 5.1 highway / 4.8 combined (note: a lower l/100km is better fuel economy). And that's with its electric A/C running pretty much all the time.

I'm not expecting anything different on the Bolt.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

So to summarize what DucRider and SeanNelson are saying, the Bolt is not an EV for the masses. It is an EV for the hypermiler. At least if you want to go on any sort of trip in it.

I'm sorry guys, but most people do not drive the way you describe. I drive around 70MPH on the highway (speed limit is 65), and almost every other car is flying past me. When I'm on a trip, I take the highway, and not a 55MPH back road. You are asking people to change their habits to fit the car, when most people will simply change the car to support their habits.

I have always gotten better than EPA fuel economy on my cars with very little extra effort. Most people I know get much less. I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about others' disappointment, and its long-term effect on the car and the EV market in general.

 

[SeanNelson]

So to summarize what DucRider and SeanNelson are saying, the Bolt is not an EV for the masses. It is an EV for the hypermiler. At least if you want to go on any sort of trip in it.

Road trips are certainly an issue for all current EVs. None of them can do it as conveniently as gasoline. It's not just the range, it's the recharge time.

Can it be done? Sure - but you have to be willing to sacrifice, just as all early adopters sacrifice by paying a premium for these vehicles.

But things are coming along, surprisingly quickly in my opinion, and with the early support of the people willing to live within their limitations I think that within a decade or so you'll see EV's and a charging infrastructure that meet all the needs of the majority of drivers.

 

[Anonymous]

Road trips are tremendously convenient in our Tesla S85. Three hours of driving leads to a 45 minute break. Perfect for families with kids, time for bio break, snack, run around the lot to burn off energy, you name it. We've done 2000 km + trips and found that we are more refreshed during the trip and when arriving at our destination compared to any other similar sized vehicle we've owned (can't compare to 35' RV ... but I digress).

110+kW Tesla supercharging makes all the difference.

For non-Tesla 200+ mile EV's, the 50kW (or less) at most CSS chargers will suck the fun out of road trips. The Bolt will be used for road trips no doubt, but two hours of driving followed by an hour of charging may get tedious.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Road trips are tremendously convenient in our Tesla S85. Three hours of driving leads to a 45 minute break. Perfect for families with kids, time for bio break, snack, run around the lot to burn off energy, you name it. We've done 2000 km + trips and found that we are more refreshed during the trip and when arriving at our destination compared to any other similar sized vehicle we've owned (can't compare to 35' RV ... but I digress).

110+kW Tesla supercharging makes all the difference.

For non-Tesla 200+ mile EV's, the 50kW (or less) at most CSS chargers will suck the fun out of road trips. The Bolt will be used for road trips no doubt, but two hours of driving followed by an hour of charging may get tedious.

I think it depends on how long the trip is and whether you would stop for that long anyway.

For me personally, I take a lot of trips in the 250-300 mile range. These should be easy in a 200 mile / 50kW BEV. Assuming I start with a full charge (why wouldn't I?), it's a single stop for maybe half an hour. If I had 100kW charging, it would be maybe 15 minutes? But the difference won't be noticed because of the factors you mentioned (bio break, snack, etc). It takes 30 minutes to get the kids in/out of the car, wait on line at starbucks, etc.

I take, on average, one trip of about 500 miles per year. Often on that one trip, I spend the night along the way. Even if I don't, it's an all day affair. A long charge stop (maybe ~1.5hr to charge 0-100 at 50kW, given tapering at the end) can easily coincide with a meal.

For a friend of mine who doesn't have kids, he may not stop at all on a 300 mile trip. If he does, it's probably less than 10 minutes. He would certainly notice. We've discussed this at length, and he is perfectly content with his Volt.

Moreover, if someone wanted to drive 500 miles as quickly as possible, that would become a real pain with only 50kW charging. You'd need to charge 1.5 times on the road. A Tesla can keep up the pace of SC-to-SC road trips. A Bolt with 50kW charging cannot.

 

[Aidan]

The Chevrolet Bolt EV was put on the list of the 2017 North American Car and Truck of the Year award

 

[Tcdn]

The electrical vehicle has come a long way Thomas Parker from London in 1884 made the first electric vehicle using specially-designed rechargeable batteries I wonder how much mileage he got from a full charge haha EV models sure have come a long way

 

[SeanNelson]

The electrical vehicle has come a long way Thomas Parker from London in 1884 made the first electric vehicle using specially-designed rechargeable batteries I wonder how much mileage he got from a full charge haha EV models sure have come a long way

Can't speak for Parker's car but the 1911 Detroit Electric was able to go 80 miles on a charge, which is further than the EPA rating for the first Leafs...

 

[jhm614]

Can't speak for Parker's car but the 1911 Detroit Electric was able to go 80 miles on a charge, which is further than the EPA rating for the first Leafs...

But top speed was 20 mph...

 

[SeanNelson]

Can't speak for Parker's car but the 1911 Detroit Electric was able to go 80 miles on a charge, which is further than the EPA rating for the first Leafs...

But top speed was 20 mph...

...which mean that the 80 miles range was with the car going flat out!!!! Let's see a leaf to that!

 

[Mailman13]

Speaking of the Leaf and charging, I had a 2013 and loved it. I got in on the Georgia $5000 kickback and did the two year lease for almost free!!!

Anyway, I will be buying a Bolt as soon as they come out, but I'm pretty sure that I won't get 200-215 miles out of one charge.
I remember when I first got the Leaf in Dec 2013, I couldn't even get the vehicle charged up 100% in time for my commute the next day. I had to purchase the 240 volt, 30 amp power supply ($800 installed) so that I could charge it to 100% in about 5 hours, instead of 75% in 13 hours. Even with this setup, I was on "low battery" every day after my 50 mile commute!!!

Now I know that the Bolt will have a bigger battery and better technology, but I drive 80 mph and I use the heat, so I'll be lucky to get 100 miles per charge. If I preconditioned my Leaf (warmed up the inside) on those cold winter days like I did, it really messed me up, even plugged in. Again, I'm sure that the Bolt will be much better.

I had friends in Atlanta that would ride in the Winter time with the heat off and in economy mode, because they thought that they wouldn't make it home. I didn't have quite that bad of anxiety attacks, but it was almost ALWAYS on my mind.

I still love the EV's and can't wait to get one, but for those who haven't owned an EV, It's going to be eye-opening for sure.

 

[SeanNelson]

...If I preconditioned my Leaf (warmed up the inside) on those cold winter days like I did, it really messed me up, even plugged in.

Eh? I must be missing something - how would preconditioning "mess you up"?