Chevy's rollout and availability plan for the Bolt - CARB first or nationwide?

[boltplease]

So now that we see that the Bolt EV has confirmed production to start in October this year, it got me thinking about when I could actually test drive/buy one in Washington State.

When I did some digging, I see this by Chevrolet:

While distribution plans are not yet finalized, we want to first satisfy demand in markets where EV acceptance is strongest

To me that means it's going to California and other CARB state - I know WA supports EVs but I couldn't find anywhere if it's a CARB state officially like California etc.

I'm thinking the Bolt won't even make it to WA until Spring 2016

 

[picasso]

Too bad there aren't enough people in non-CARB states to complain and convince government to make them CARB states - then they could be first on the EV rollout list along with me

 

[robbs]

The Volt 2.0 is finally starting to show up at some of my local dealerships but haven't seen any on the road. I am curious to see if Chevy will list Texas as a first/second/third wave release state for the Bolt EV.

Maybe the Bolt will be closer to Model 3 availability - that would really hamper GM's ability to sell lots of them here!

 

[DucRider]

The Volt 2.0 is finally starting to show up at some of my local dealerships but haven't seen any on the road. I am curious to see if Chevy will list Texas as a first/second/third wave release state for the Bolt EV.

Maybe the Bolt will be closer to Model 3 availability - that would really hamper GM's ability to sell lots of them here!

If Tesla meets their timeline, Model 3 will start to ship very late 2017 or more likely early 2018. so at least a year and a half or so.
They will ship first to reservation holders who are current Tesla owners on the West Coast Tesla who configure fully optioned cars ($50K+) and will proceed from West to East, the EU, etc.
No further info is available, so we don't know if they fill all West Coast orders first, all current owners first, all fully optioned cars first, or some combination of the above. Reservation # will also have some influence.
Bolt will likely be available at least 3 years before people that opted not to give Tesla an interest free loan can expect to get a Model 3. Non Tesla owners with a reservation will likely be 2-3 years, depending on location (and how they configure their Model 3).

It may take a while to find any Bolts "at the dealership" as most (or all) of the initial units will be sold before arriving. Texas is likely to be a few months behind California and/or ZEV States, but will still have availability well ahead of Tesla.

I'm not sure the Bolt and Tesla will be cross shopped much. Other than the 200+ mile range, they don't have a lot in common (some, but not most, Model 3's will be at about the Bolt cost level).

 

[SeanNelson]

I'm not sure the Bolt and Tesla will be cross shopped much. Other than the 200+ mile range, they don't have a lot in common (some, but not most, Model 3's will be at about the Bolt cost level).

The two most important characteristic of electric vehicles are price and range, and both these cars are very similar in that regard. So there will be at least some people who are going to have both of these on their radar screen. And it's certain that the media will be comparing them.

 

[DucRider]

The two most important characteristic of electric vehicles are price and range, and both these cars are very similar in that regard. So there will be at least some people who are going to have both of these on their radar screen. And it's certain that the media will be comparing them.

When the time comes that both are available, I suspect that people will be pretty firmly in one camp or the other for a variety of reasons.
Tesla brand image
Hatchback vs sedan
Supercharging vs ???
AWD and performance upgrade availability (add $10K or so)

Some of these bring it into an entirely different price range. At least 75% of Model 3's will be configured to a higher price than the Bolt (Elon thinks the average will be $42K+)

Until we see a final design and specs on the model 3 (maybe by the end of this year?), we'll have a better idea. And then there's also the LEAF 2.0 that will almost certainly be out before the Model 3

 

[SeanNelson]

When the time comes that both are available, I suspect that people will be pretty firmly in one camp or the other for a variety of reasons.
Tesla brand image
Hatchback vs sedan
Supercharging vs ???
AWD and performance upgrade availability (add $10K or so)

Some of these bring it into an entirely different price range. At least 75% of Model 3's will be configured to a higher price than the Bolt (Elon thinks the average will be $42K+)

Of course the Bolt EV will also have a bunch of options available, and may be sold in two different trim levels the way the Volt is.

One might think that a Tesla buyer is more likely to "option up" their vehicle than a Bolt buyer, but I'm not totally convinced of that. The most affluent Tesla owners have already bought the existing models, so the people lining up for a Model 3 are at least a little more price conscious.

I suspect that at least some Tesla owners, particularly the more price conscious ones who are stuck further down on the waiting list, may switch to a Bolt in order to get into an EV more quickly. But nobody who's interested in a Bolt is going to switch to Tesla because of availability.

That gives GM has a very important window to convince at least some potential Tesla buyers of the worthiness of the Bolt - I hope they make the most of it.

 

[Aidan]

Has the Chevy bolt go into production yet or is it still a concept vehicle?

 

[SeanNelson]

Has the Chevy bolt go into production yet or is it still a concept vehicle?

By all reports it will go into full production in October for first deliveries before the end of the year (likely in limited markets to start).

The plant has already been up and running to test the assembly line, and a number (perhaps 50 to 100?) of "pre-production" vehicles have been built and are in the hands of testers prior to the start of full production. These cars are essentially the same as the production vehicles will be, with the possible exception of some add-ons or tweaks depending on what testers find or on what the marketing department's final say is on the options and pricing list.

 

[Tcdn]

As it is most likely California will see the Chevy Bolt first in Canada most likely Ontario will see it first I'm from out west and we're behind Ontario as far as charging stations etc

 

[GetOffYourGas]

When the time comes that both are available, I suspect that people will be pretty firmly in one camp or the other for a variety of reasons.
Tesla brand image
Hatchback vs sedan
Supercharging vs ???
AWD and performance upgrade availability (add $10K or so)

Over the air upgradability vs reliability
Traditional vs Spartan dashboard

To mention two that matter me (btw, Bolt wins both cases).

As long as people buy EVs for the sake of buying an EV, they will be cross shopped. Once we get to the point where people simple don't consider a Model III because they want a hatchback, I would say that EVs have "arrived" at true mass market. We are not there yet.

 

[DucRider]

When the time comes that both are available, I suspect that people will be pretty firmly in one camp or the other for a variety of reasons.
Tesla brand image
Hatchback vs sedan
Supercharging vs ???
AWD and performance upgrade availability (add $10K or so)

Over the air upgradability vs reliability
Traditional vs Spartan dashboard

To mention two that matter me (btw, Bolt wins both cases).

As long as people buy EVs for the sake of buying an EV, they will be cross shopped. Once we get to the point where people simple don't consider a Model III because they want a hatchback, I would say that EVs have "arrived" at true mass market. We are not there yet.

I guess we should also add:
Service availability (Tesla is mighty thin) https://www.tesla.com/findus#/bounds/49.38,-66.94,25.82,-124.39?search=service,&name=us
And by mid 2017, drive one home today vs order and wait months (or years) to get one.

 

[stephen]

Too bad there aren't enough people in non-CARB states to complain and convince government to make them CARB states - then they could be first on the EV rollout list along with me

It's strange how people need not demand and complain before the government takes that initiative!

 

[Anonymous]

Here in Ontario where $12K rebates on Chevy Volts see them flying off the dealer lots, the problem is the dealers aren't stocking Volts. Dozens upon dozens of trucks across dozens of dealers, meanwhile, a few Volt's available for a few weeks at a time, before they are sold and then it's months till restocked.

The rollout will be constrained by dealers based on what we've all seen so far. Those in California will get sweet lease deals that no others get, and the rest of the states and Canada will get constrained stock and lack of movement on price.

 

[mark111]

Here in Ontario where $12K rebates on Chevy Volts see them flying off the dealer lots, the problem is the dealers aren't stocking Volts. Dozens upon dozens of trucks across dozens of dealers, meanwhile, a few Volt's available for a few weeks at a time, before they are sold and then it's months till restocked.

The rollout will be constrained by dealers based on what we've all seen so far. Those in California will get sweet lease deals that no others get, and the rest of the states and Canada will get constrained stock and lack of movement on price.

Yeah. This dealer problem with Chevrolet seems persistent. There aren't very many dealers in my area that stocks Volt, though the demand is high. And I envy California.

 

[roundpeg]

FWIW, I walked in to my local (California) Chevy dealer last week and asked about the Bolt. At first they thought I was asking about the Volt, of which they had in plenty of stock. They could tell me basically nothing about the Bolt, though. Since the ship date is supposedly only two months off I wonder if CA buyers really are going to see this car much sooner than elsewhere. They said they'd contact me when they knew something, so we shall see.