General Motors had a great showing during the EV day at the beginning of March, showcasing many new electric cars for all their brands along with their new Ultima battery technology which looks to provide up to 400 miles of range. However, the company was not able to escape the growing COVID-19 pandemic and has made the decision to delay their planned Chevy Bolt EV refresh.
The refresh to the Chevy Bolt EV was unveiled during GM’s battery day along with about 10 other electric cars. While it was initially planned to be launched later this year, the company released a statement saying that the refresh Chevy Bolt would appear in 2021 as a 2022 model.
“We have confirmed that we were planning to introduce a refreshed Bolt EV later this year and the Bolt EUV next year. As a result of the current business situation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to launch the refreshed Bolt EV in 2021 as a 2022 model and the Bolt EUV remains on schedule.”
The refresh, as the name implies was not a totally new generation of the Chevy Bolt, but it will feature a slightly different look to the car. The biggest addition to the refreshed Chevy Bolt will be the additional cameras to help with its adaptive cruise control (which is not GM’s SuperCruise technology, that will be found in the EUV model).
Thankfully it seems like the pandemic is only impacting the short-term operations of GM as the Bolt EUV remains on schedule to start production late 2021. General Motors released a separate statement saying that the pandemic did not affect their other EV plans at this time.
“All our development teams around the globe are looking for opportunities to conserve resources by adjusting program timing and deferring spending. Near-term programs like our full-size SUVs, and our EV portfolio including the Bolt EUV, GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Cruise Origin and the Ultium battery program will see little or no impact.”
This delay is not exclusive to just the Chevy Bolt, as other internal combustion-engined cars in GM’s repertoire might see a delay in their mid-cycle refreshes as well.
Overall given that it is just a refresh that is being delayed rather than an all-new generation of the car, the impact shouldn’t be too much especially with GM saying that their other EV plans are intact.
Source: InsideEVs
