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Why does GM keep killing America's cheapest EV?
General Motors just did something unprecedented. It brought a car back from the dead—with the promise of killing it again. Today, we're diving into the life, death, and temporary revival of the $29,000 Chevrolet Bolt—the cheapest EV you can buy in America—and how its saga represents a lot that's gone wrong in the new car market is today.
The Bolt was GM's first modern electric car when it was launched in 2017, beating the Tesla Model 3 to production. For a time was the only EV under $50,000 with over 200 miles of range, and owners adored their little oddball hatchbacks. But in 2023, GM announced it was killing the Bolt to focus on building full-size electric pickups and SUVs, part of a massive plan to make an all-EV lineup by 2035.
People were furious . The media (hi) was incredulous. Why would GM just kill a popular, affordable EV with sales at an all-time high? After a few months of heavy criticism, GM reversed course and promised it would find a way to put the Bolt back into production. It was an unprecedented move, but three years and a lot of work later, the car is back, basically the same price, better than ever.
Trouble is, it's a completely different world now. EV sales have plateaued, no one is buying those expensive electric pickups, the federal tax credit is gone, and the Bolt is now the cheapest electric car you can buy in this country. Other automakers are prepping their own affordable EVs to compete. And yet, GM is getting ready to kill the Bolt again in just 18 months.
What is going on here? Joel and Kyle get into it all after Kyle spent a day test-driving the new-old Chevy Bolt and pressing the car's engineering team for answers.
[Thanks to the National Corvette Museum for sponsoring today's episode! Enter here (https://bit.ly/4uBefxU) for your chance to win a '65 Corvette. Entries close April 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM CT. This is your shot – don’t let it pass.]
Stories mentioned in today's episode:
00:00 Intro
04:07 Bolt's rise and fall
12:11 Who killed the Bolt?
24:30 The resurrection
30:16 The new Bolt's promise
43:44 Uncertain future
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
View all episodes
By The DriveGeneral Motors just did something unprecedented. It brought a car back from the dead—with the promise of killing it again. Today, we're diving into the life, death, and temporary revival of the $29,000 Chevrolet Bolt—the cheapest EV you can buy in America—and how its saga represents a lot that's gone wrong in the new car market is today.
The Bolt was GM's first modern electric car when it was launched in 2017, beating the Tesla Model 3 to production. For a time was the only EV under $50,000 with over 200 miles of range, and owners adored their little oddball hatchbacks. But in 2023, GM announced it was killing the Bolt to focus on building full-size electric pickups and SUVs, part of a massive plan to make an all-EV lineup by 2035.
People were furious . The media (hi) was incredulous. Why would GM just kill a popular, affordable EV with sales at an all-time high? After a few months of heavy criticism, GM reversed course and promised it would find a way to put the Bolt back into production. It was an unprecedented move, but three years and a lot of work later, the car is back, basically the same price, better than ever.
Trouble is, it's a completely different world now. EV sales have plateaued, no one is buying those expensive electric pickups, the federal tax credit is gone, and the Bolt is now the cheapest electric car you can buy in this country. Other automakers are prepping their own affordable EVs to compete. And yet, GM is getting ready to kill the Bolt again in just 18 months.
What is going on here? Joel and Kyle get into it all after Kyle spent a day test-driving the new-old Chevy Bolt and pressing the car's engineering team for answers.
[Thanks to the National Corvette Museum for sponsoring today's episode! Enter here (https://bit.ly/4uBefxU) for your chance to win a '65 Corvette. Entries close April 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM CT. This is your shot – don’t let it pass.]
Stories mentioned in today's episode:
00:00 Intro
04:07 Bolt's rise and fall
12:11 Who killed the Bolt?
24:30 The resurrection
30:16 The new Bolt's promise
43:44 Uncertain future
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices