For many years, drivers and auto makers alike have been waiting for the development of an electric car with two required features – longer electric-only driving range and lower price tag. With Chevrolet President, Mary Barra’s exciting announcement of the Bolt EV concept at the 2015 North American Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 12, Chevrolet made it clear that they believe they have produced just that. Their vision is for an affordable, long-range all-electric vehicle that offers more than 200 miles of distance for a starting price of around $30,000 (after government incentives)! Their hope is that it will be the first mass-market Electric Vehicle success.
Other competitors have addressed only one or the other of the needed features of an electric car. One automaker sells a sport sedan that goes 265 miles per charge but costs a pricey $80,000 while another is lower priced but can only travel about 80 miles before its long charging session. Now GM says it has unlocked the secret. And secret they have been about their Bolt prototype until their dramatic announcement at the Auto Show. Its killer combination of distance and value far outweighs the Nissan “Leaf” and Tesla Motors “Model S”.
In addition, the spacious and stylish four-door hatchback in a crossover body shape will certainly appeal to a much broader market than just the ‘green’ crowd, hopefully to the tune of 100,000 vehicles in annual sales. Designed to support DC fast charging, the Bolt EV will also give drivers various operating modes to select regarding driving styles like daily commuting or weekend cruising. These will adjust accelerator pedal mapping, ride height and suspension tuning. The vehicle uses lightweight materials such as aluminum, magnesium, carbon fibre and woven mesh. The interior looks airy with glass all around, including a full-length, frosted glass roof! It provides spacious head and legroom for four.
The dash of the Chevrolet Bolt EV sports a 10” color display interface, allowing the projection of all the application and smartphone data onto the screen. Through its Connect app., the smartphone can perform as the key fob and allow management of ride-sharing, reservations, vehicle location, digital key and payment processing. It even uses the concept auto park-and-retrieval technology, which allows the driver to exit and tell the car to park itself, and then be summoned to return when errands are complete.
Is the techno-wonder ‘car of the future’ actually here at an affordable price? Chevrolet is confident of it becoming reality in two short years from now.
