GM Ups Ante Calls Out Other Automakers on EVs?

Posted on 3 October 2017 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on pure EVs

The future GM products are invisible, as are existing EV sales.

In the next 18 months, GM claims it will introduce two new all-electric vehicles based on experience with the Chevrolet Bolt EV. They will be the first of at least 20 new all-electric vehicles that will launch by 2023, according to GM.

This marketing move obviously ignores the minuscule sales of EVs currently – about 1% of the total market -, and does not bode well for taxpayers as more subsidies seem inevitable to ignite EV sales from the wisp of electrons they are now.

The fate of the existing a taxpayer subsidy via a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 in a thus far failed attempt to make EVs saleable is also unknown in in Chief divider Trump who lives in a magical land of his own. Caveat: actual savings from the federal government depend on individual income and tax brackets, of course, and this applies to all EVs.

Year-to-date GM has sold 14,302 Chevrolet Bolt EVs. During September, Bolt EV had its best month ever with 2,505 retail deliveries and 2,632 totals. Nissan has sold 10,740 Leaf models (+16%) ytd but slid -20% at 1,055 during September.

The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has an EPA-estimated range of 238 miles (383 kM) from its 60-kWh battery pack that is made in Korea. What the future holds depends energy prices, and EV prices – roughly $40,000 or more with options for a Tesla Model 3 or Bolt mid-size car.

However, the larger battery pack in the Tesla pushes the price to, gulp, $53,000. The smaller 2018 Leaf starts debuted last month, and when it arrives on American streets, it’ll have a range of 150 miles, a plethora of optional – emphasis optional – driver assist systems and a starting price below $30,000.

All in all, it’s a conundrum for automakers, policy makers and above all buyers.

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About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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One Response to GM Ups Ante Calls Out Other Automakers on EVs?

  1. Pingback: Electric Vehicles – a Virus That Can’t Be Controlled? | AutoInformed

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