GM cuts the price of the 2023 Chevy Bolt, making it the cheapest electric car in America
2023 Chevrolet Bolt will be the cheapest electric car you can buy in America – with a reservation.
Earlier this week, General Motors (GM) unveiled awards for the 2023 version of the Bolt EV. Base 1[ads1]LT and better equipped 2LT models are now priced at $ 26,595 and $ 29,795 respectively, which GM says is a price cut of $ 5,900 per model compared to last year.
The larger Bolt EUV gets an even bigger price cut, at least nominally, of $ 6,300.
For the regular Bolt EV, that price represents a massive price cut of 18.5% from a year ago, at a time when everything from components to labor costs is increasing significantly in this country.
GM says even with the big price cut, no features have been removed or trimmed compared to last year’s model.
“Nothing has been removed,” GM product specialist Shad Balch told the Detroit Free Press. “This reflects our ongoing desire to ensure that the Bolt EV / EUV is competitive in the market. As we have said, reasonableness has always been a priority for these vehicles.”
Prices and tax deductions
Although 2023 prices have not been announced yet, the 2022 Nissan Leaf, which was the cheapest electric car offered in the United States, starts at $ 27,400. If you do not include the $ 7,500 federal tax deduction (which Nissan still qualifies for, but GM does not), the 2023 Bolt EV is the cheapest car in America.
So technically, the Bolt EV is the cheapest electric car in America when it goes on sale in 2023, not including the federal tax deduction (which brings the Nissan Leaf down to an incredibly low $ 19,900). The bad news for Nissan (7201.T) is that Leaf’s total total sales in the US are around 175,000 units, and when the 200,000 limit is reached, the federal tax deduction is halved.
Also on the downside for the Nissan Leaf is that it only has a range of 149 miles (EPA-rated), while the cheapest Bolt EV has a GM estimated 259 miles. A buyer has to go up to the Nissan Leaf S Plus to get the 226 miles range (EPA rated), but that model starts at $ 32,400.
The big point here is that GM is doing what they can to bring an affordable, mass-market EV alternative with decent electric range to middle-class buyers who want to go electric. This is part of the market with a lack of alternatives, with only the Nissan Leaf S Plus as the only competitor, although Fisker (FSR) promises that the Ocean EV SUV will start under $ 40,000 when it arrives sometime next year.
If the country is to reach the White House’s target of 50% of car sales to be fully electric by 2030, American buyers will need many more cheaper electric cars.
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Pras Subramanian is a senior car reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him further Twitter and on Instagram.
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