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Customer LoginsChevrolet Bolt EV suggests promise for GM's new architecture
IHS Markit has driven the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the company's latest major push into the electric vehicle market, and spoke with the engineers, designers, and marketing team behind the car.
IHS Markit Perspective:
- Significance: Chevrolet's Bolt EV is the first electric vehicle on market to deliver a range of more than 200 miles on a single charge, excluding Tesla models, and could be the product that provides a tipping point in mainstream demand for EV products.
- Implications: Chevrolet's Bolt EV is General Motors' (GM) latest full-on effort to develop a practical electrified vehicle, and ticks nearly all the boxes. The vehicle is available in a handful of US states today, and will be available nationally in September 2017.
- Outlook: The constant improvement GM is showing in EV development is exciting, even in an environment in which EVs are picking up the sales pace slowly. The Bolt has the opportunity to introduce EVs to a more mainstream audience than prior cars, on the strength of Chevrolet's dealerships, the brand's accessibility, strong pricing, and market timing as EVs have moved past the science-project phase. Where the Bolt EV and GM may face resistance is over the EV's cost, an issue facing other EV makers. However, factoring in the level of safety and convenience technology, and the US tax credits that can bring the overall cost down, the Bolt EV could be considered a steal.
Chevrolet has launched the long-awaited Bolt EV, the first electric vehicle on market to deliver a range of more than 200 miles on a single charge, excluding Tesla models, and could be the product that provides a tipping point in mainstream demand for EV products. Chevrolet's Bolt EV is General Motors' (GM) latest full-on effort to develop a practical electrified vehicle, and ticks nearly all the boxes. The vehicle is available in a handful of US states today, and will be available nationally in September 2017.
IHS Markit has had the opportunity to drive the EV, and speak with the engineers, designers, and marketing team behind the small hatchback. We already knew the key specifications: 238-miles of range, the interior space of a C-segment car in a B-segment footprint. The EV charges on 120-volt chargers, although at a slower pace than if an owner installs a 240-V charger. With a 240-V charger, the Bolt can be charged from empty to full in 9 hours; on a DC fast-charger, the Bolt EV can be charged with enough energy to go 90 miles in a 30-minute period. The EV has seating for five and a base price near the current new-vehicle average price of USD34,000 - and with US tax incentives, the base car has a price just below USD29,000. The test car we drove had an MSRP of about USD42,000, and after factoring in a USD7,500 tax credit, this vehicle is at the top of the average new-vehicle price in the United States.
Project engineer Mike Lelli confirmed to us the direction that was set out for the Bolt EV programme team by GM CEO and chairwoman Mary Barra and senior management. First and foremost, the Bolt EV programme team was directed to build a great car, with the EV powertrain central but a support player rather than the programme driver. GM wanted a product that was able to delight consumers independently of the powertrain and the appeal of a green car. The Bolt EV carries all-new sheet metal and GM considers it an all-new platform, purpose-built for this programme and its EV architecture. In addition, the battery has been incorporated into the structure. While it is an all-new platform, with an interior specifically designed around the flat floor and reduced intrusion of an EV motor and smaller transmission, according to the design team, the Bolt EV draws on all of GM's past experience in electric vehicle development, the hits and the misses.
The result is a terrific EV powertrain; it borrows some components and systems from the Volt, as well as introducing new technology. For example, to address the unique thermal needs of the EV, the Bolt has three cooling systems: one for the motor, one for the batteries, and one to control a conventional, radiator-type heater core for interior heat.
We spoke with the interior and exterior designers on the project, including Stuart Norris, managing director of design. The Bolt EV's interior and exterior design was undertaken by GM's team in South Korea, which was also responsible for the Spark and which has the greatest concentration of small-car expertise. This team worked more closely with engineering than it had on many other GM programmes, an approach that is expected to be adopted on more GM programmes. The interior of the Bolt EV is spacious and the level of technology is high, including a low-energy Bluetooth system that will connect with an owner's smartphone as they approach the vehicle. There is a technical feel to the design shapes and materials, and the design lead told us that, when choosing the materials, the end uses were kept in mind, specifically the expectation that the Bolt EV will be used for ride-sharing. The vehicle looking good was important, but so was durability under potentially unfriendly conditions. GM has announced that the Bolt will be used by the US-based Lyft ride-sharing network, with unconfirmed rumours that Lyft ultimately would like to buy around 30,000 units per year. To that end, materials were chosen for durability as well as their ability to project the technical feel that Chevrolet wanted.
The resulting feel of the Bolt EV's interior does leave something to be desired for a car whose price can reach USD44,000 with all available technology and appointments and a leather interior, before potentially available tax incentives. However, because of the powertrain, it carries a premium price for its size and package position in the automotive market. The end result is an environment that feels more functional than comfortable or premium. From a functional standpoint, the EV can carry people and items reasonably well. The design means it looks a bit like a crossover utility vehicle (CUV), but it is offered only in front-wheel-drive and without the higher ride height and ground clearance typical of a CUV. The EV's higher seating position is more characteristic of utility vehicles, but alone is not quite enough to put it on the CUV side of the ledger, although customers will ultimately be the ones who determine practical categorisation. However, Chevrolet head of marketing Steve Majoros told us that the brand is looking to leverage two of the strengths it has: credibility in the space of electrified powertrains and a strong history of sport utility vehicle (SUV) products.
The Bolt EV offers a compelling equipment list, including making available the Gentex video mirror first introduced in the Cadillac CT6 and which is being expanded across that brand's line-up, and a surround view for exterior cameras, which is sensitive to changing light conditions. The centre stack display is the largest in GM's stable and offers sharp graphics, as does the driver's instrument cluster. The EV offers heated and cooled front seats, as well as a heated steering wheel.
The EV has Wi-Fi and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but no embedded navigation. Skipping embedded navigation is the cool thing to do, particularly as the prevailing theory is that millennials only want to use their phones; however, on our drive, both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay ran into situations in which the car was unable to provide navigation. The trade-off between a higher cost system and using the more familiar and intuitive phone apps can be inconsistency of service. Chevrolet's decision to go this route with the EV is consistent with the offerings of its smaller cars, and also reinforces that the Bolt EV is in the economy class.
The Bolt EV's powertrain is terrific. While the afternoon spent with the vehicle was not enough to provide thorough observation of the car's overall range of more than 200 miles. As great as this range is for a vehicle that can take 9 hours to charge, the powertrain is really outstanding in its smooth, confident acceleration, which delivers confidence in the street, city and highway driving we took the car on. Chevrolet has also done an excellent job of managing interior noise, although in the context of the relatively smooth roads around San Francisco, California, that we took the car on. The Bolt EV's brake regeneration enables what GM accurately calls one-foot driving - leveraging the brake regen system to slow the car rather than using the brake, assisted with a instant-on regen accessed through a paddle at the steering wheel. The system is remarkably easy to get used to. Between the Low mode and manipulation of a paddle at the steering wheel, which amplifies regen braking and slows the car as aggressively and some traditional braking situations, it is possible to handle most braking situations without using the actual brake pedal. The system is a development of one first introduced in the short-lived Cadillac ELR, in which it was positioned as a performance driving feature, and is a further proof point that GM is continuing to evolve and deepen its experience and execution of these products. Not enough for emergency braking, most driving is predictable and can be controlled via these systems instead of friction brakes.
The Bolt also delivers strong driving dynamics. The car is not a sports car, but it is responsive, quiet vehicle that enables confident driving, as it is quick and predictable. Compared with other small cars and CUVs, it delivers a stronger experience. The EV powertrain, which provides instant acceleration with far less noise than an ICE, can be a far more pleasant experience than offered by many small-displacement 4-cylinder engines in B- and C-segment vehicles..
Outlook and implications
The constant improvement GM is showing in EV development is exciting, even in an environment in which EVs are picking up the sales pace slowly. The Bolt has the opportunity to introduce EVs to a more mainstream audience than prior cars from other brands, on the strengths of the Chevrolet dealership network, the brand's accessibility, strong pricing, and market timing as EVs have moved past the science-project phase. Where the Bolt EV and GM may face resistance is over the EV's cost, an issue facing other EV makers.
However, factoring in the level of safety and convenience technology, and the US tax credits that can bring the overall cost down, the Bolt EV could be considered a steal.
The interior, however, is a weak point, as is the fact that the car is a small hatchback. Even in this instance, small hatchbacks must provide some level of cost-related compromise. The technical look is great, but the feel of the interior materials is decidedly entry-level, even with the leather. In an environment where buyers are flocking to buy premium interiors and SUVs, the Bolt interior is a step below premium in terms of materials. These may be acceptable compromises for the nascent EV market, but over time, EVs need to evolve into packages better aligned with consumer desires, and at less difficult price points than Tesla commands. The good news for GM is that it has the brand's stable, and the ability to scale production to continue building the formula.
Chevrolet and GM should be commended for the successes of the Bolt EV in today's environment, and having won car-of-the-year awards from several organisations, the EV is garnering critical accolades. However, the car is also significant for the path it demonstrates GM is capable of following and its demonstration of the company's ability to execute when it chooses to bring a focus and full support to a vehicle development programme.
About this article
The above article is from IHS Automotive Same-Day Analysis of automotive news, events and trends, and is a deliverable of the World Markets Automotive Service. The service averages thirty stories per day and also provides competitor and country intelligence. Get a free trial.