#NAIAS: IF Chevrolet Launches A $30,000 EV — The Bolt — On Monday, Should Tesla Be NERVOUS?

BIG news coming across the air waves about the 2015 Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS). The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Monday will be a big day for General Motors' Chevrolet division. Why, you ask?

It won't be because of the Cadillac CTS-V or even the newly done up 2016 Volt.

The BIG news will be about the Bolt.

According to reports, this will be a vehicle that prices in under the Volt. THINK: $30,000. We're sure that means it will also be a bit smaller; however, there is a plus to this. The latest word on the street is suggesting that the Chevrolet Bolt will be able to achieve a staggering 200 mile charge.

It seems that GM can't catch a break though with crude oil prices taking a recent nosedive with some economists forecasting that low gas prices may be here to stay for a bit.

I think the elephant in the room is this: will electric vehicle buyers stick to their status symbol Teslas with HUGE iPad-like screens in the center stack or will they consider a less expensive alternative that gets the job done just as well?

What do YOU think? Should Tesla be NERVOUS?

General Motors Co. plans to launch a $30,000 electric vehicle called the Chevrolet Bolt that would be capable of driving 200 miles on a charge by 2017, according to people familiar with the strategy, a move to gain ground on Tesla Motors Inc.

GM will show off a concept version of the Bolt on Monday at the Detroit auto show, eight years after the auto giant disclosed it would re-enter the electric car market with the Chevrolet Volt. The Volt, on sale since late 2010 and redesigned for 2015, is being upgraded to get better capability and sharper design, and has a backup gasoline motor on board in case juice runs out.

The Chevy Bolt, carrying a more capable battery manufactured by South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. , will be aimed squarely at Tesla’s forthcoming Model 3, a $35,000 electric car also slated to debut in 2017. The concept version of the electric car will be a hatchback designed to look more like a so-called crossover vehicle, according to people familiar with the design. The Bolt will be capable of driving four times farther than a Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid on a single charge...

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chewy - 1/10/2015 5:26:45 PM

+1 Boost

Made no sense until I read the 2017 part. Still doesn't make full sense if the Volt is 40,000 and has 40 mile range and maybe would have 100 tops if it was pure electric.

qckshftr - 1/10/2015 6:51:53 PM

+1 Boost

re: Tesla being nervous... honestly, I doubt it... the Volt / Bolt isn't cross-shopped w/ a Tesla Model S / Model X / Roadster... even when Tesla comes out w/ their Model 3, it will be more of a premium vehicle than the Volt (even if ideally it'll start around low $40k range)...

I'd guess the big cross-shopped cars for Bolt / Volt would be the Nissan Leaf, Prius plug-in, etc... ideally GM's ELR (which is really sexy looking!!) would be cross-shopped w/ a status electric, like the Model S / Roadster....... but it's not.

Once Tesla builds their "gigafactory"... their economies of scale will likely allow them to have amazing range for their electrics, at much lower costs for their batteries than 'competitors' from GM, and elsewhere. What Tesla would be smart to do, is to build batteries cheaply enough that they would then sell them to competitors (like Toyota, as they're doing?)... everyone will win. But, if GM (or any other manufacturer) comes up w/ a genuinely revolutionary battery solution......... competition is GOOD for everyone!! Naturally Tesla's next vehicles in their pipeline will be better than their current Model S / Roadster / upcoming Model X / upcoming Model 3......... just as the third gen Volt will be better than the upcoming second gen Volt, which is already gonna be better than the current Volt, etc.

qckshftr - 1/10/2015 6:56:21 PM

+1 Boost

Much like Samsung, which is a HUGE competitor of Apple's, still supplies Apple w/ a lot of diff components. It'll be interesting to see what weird bedfellows there will be in the coming years... I'd LOVE to see Tesla supply my fav manufactuer, BMW!, w/ batteries for next-gen "i" series vehicles..... and have BMW share their CFRP chassis/monocoques w/ Tesla...... imagine what an incredibly agile sports car they could co-develop in that scenario!!

TomM - 1/10/2015 8:24:42 PM

+1 Boost

Electric Vehicles supply a niche market - and there will only be so many who will want a totally electric vehicle with limited range between charges. They are largely for the Urbanite and the green people.
Suburbanites who live farther away from their work simply cannot depend on them to supply the range required in all weather - UNTIL there is an easy and plentiful charging/swapping solution. WE really have no idea how many middle class people will buy them - they certainly do not buy them in great numbers today.

However - I have always maintained that the TESLA model of monopolizing its market completely by being basically the only selling and servicing option - will eventually not work for the Middle class car market when competition comes in - and a used market (People who do not return to the dealer for service) has to develop. In reality - TESLA sells very few cars today - to a relatively rich clientele - who would use dealer service. Eventually Tesla will have to make ALL of its parts available to both repair centers and collision centers - including a way of resetting the computers that now - Tesla has NOT revealed to the aftermarket - or used Tesla cars will become big paper weights