Barra says GM to increase Bolt EV production

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/mobility/2018/03/07/gm-bolt-production-orion/32699953/

“Increased Bolt EV production benefits our customers around the world, our dealers and our employees, who are proud to build an affordable, ground-breaking vehicle that our customers love,” Mary Barra wrote in her prepared remarks for a Cambridge Energy Research Associates conference in Houston on Wednesday, where she announced the intention to ramp up production."
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"Barra: "Most people think they're giving something up when they drive an electric vehicle, and they're not..." citing instant torque."
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"We recognize the challenge that coal still generates about 30 percent of electricity in the U.S. and 65 percent in China,” Barra wrote in her remarks. “When we improve the percentage of renewable power sources in our grid, we can further reduce the carbon footprint of EVs.”
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"We're optimistic about EVs..." because automakers sold 1.2 million plug-ins or hybrids around the world last year, Barra said."

It isn't surprising that Bolt EV production is increasing. There is a pretty good chance it actually outsells the Chevy Sonic in the US and Canada this year... a car that has a starting price less than half the price of the Bolt EV.

She is no Elon, but Barra has been making a lot of the right moves for GM and I'm very excited to see where she continues to take the company on EVs!

I only hope we also see one of other GM Plug-Ins launch this year!

Ya'll think we will see the launch of the Buick / Cadillac plug-ins this year or next?

 

They might add an additional shift, depending on how much of an increase this is.

But for sure I think they will cut sonic production further. They’re practically giving the Sonic away at the moment. According to GM Authority today:

“Perhaps the most notable deal is for a Chevrolet Sonic. Shoppers can score the sub-compact hatchback or sedan with $5,000 off the $16,000 MSRP. By combining the Asian conquest incentive with a $1,000 rebate and $1,500 down-payment assistance, buyers can score a killer deal. And the Sonic remains a solid vehicle.”

With increased production the Bolt should outsell the Sonic pretty easily this year.

I can almost guarantee there is more profit for a dealer and GM in a 41k Bolt than any trim of the Sonic. Especially when taking $5k - $7.5k off of a $16k-20k car!

 

Go to the link below for proof from CARB and the UCS that GM not only has met compliance but has exceeded it many times over.

Next year GM needs to sell only about 3,000 Bolts to meet compliance.

Because the Bolt EV is worth 3 credits... At over 13,000 sold in Cali last year, GM sold about enough Bolt EVs in 2017... to meet ZEV compliance in 2025!

Plus they also sold thousands of Volts last year and already have over 100,000 ZEV credits banked already. How exactly is that “not selling their compliance quota”?

http://insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/whats-the-deal-with-the-bolt-ampera-e-supply-demand-problems.145/#post-826

 

........please stay on topic.

"quota of 20K bolts" What quota of 20k bolts?

GM made 31,000 Bolt EV/Ampera-e and sold 28,000 Bolt EV/Ampera-e last year. Plus about 30,000 Volt/Velite PHEVs. And another 17,000 between the e100 and CT6.

GM is increasing the amount of Bolt's they sell this year. Go on the record - is this increase GOOD or BAD?

 

Not at all. GM is being rewarded for their move to EVs ahead of competitors like Ford, Chrysler/Fiat, and European/Japanese automakers. The EV announcements are great for GMs stock. GM is being sent a message that Electrics are the future.
http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/gm-stock-price-hits-its-highest-price-ever-after-going-all-in-on-electric-cars-2017-10-1002953896

Mary Barra sure seems positive and upbeat about EVs and autonomous vehicles.
https://twitter.com/mtbarra?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

Also, Elon predicted no such thing. LG said they would make just over 30,000 EVs before Elon did. That's how many were made:
https://insideevs.com/lg-chem-expects-chevrolet-bolt-sales-exceed-30000-2017/

20k is NOT the compliance rate AT ALL. For a major automaker, 3,000-6,000 will be the compliance rate for the next several years. (Depending on the battery size of the model in question.)

And Elon never once has said the Bolt was a 'compliance' car. Elon knows better and is well aware that GM outperforms compliance requirements. A compliance car from GM last year would only need to sell less than 3,000 units. Elon complained that the ZEV market isn't "fair". He called the Bolt a 'CARB play' most likely because he expects GM to be selling their ZEV credits just like Tesla does. Maximizing profits on the Bolt is a positive not a negative.

The Spark EV was a compliance car: ~3,000 units a year in Cali.
The Fiat 500e is a compliance car: ~3,000-4,000 units a year in Cali.
The eGolf is a compliance car (in the US at least): ~3,000 a year in Cali.

The Bolt EV at 13,500 EVs outsold ALL other EVs in California, including Tesla. And that is less than half of the Bolts/Ampera-e's sold worldwide. And this year production will be higher. But selling 13,500 in Cali and 28,000 worldwide when you only need to sell 3,000 total seems like a pretty terrible attempt at making a compliance car!

 

Happy to clear it up. Yes, most articles listed only the US numbers and neglected to mention the 2,100+ in Canada, 1,900+ in Europe and 600 in S Korea.

I would also like to know the increase in production and what their goals are. Is it primarily for US deliveries or international?

If I were to take a guess, the increase is for the 2019 model that will start production this summer, not the 2018.

Just some speculation on my part:

They could increase Canadian yearly deliveries to levels similar to the Volt at around 4,500.

They’ve already confirmed 5,000 for S Korea this year.

I think they will also increase US deliveries for Q4 since this is GMs last year with the full credit. Perhaps 28k-30k in the US of the 2019 MY?

I would expect Middle Eastern, African and Mexico Bolt sales to remain very low. And 2019 Ampera-e sales will probably be down. And the Bolt will likely not be coming to China, but the Buick EV is likely to.

I’m gonna speculate:
US 30k
Canada 4k
S Korea 5k
All other International 2k

So roughly 38k - 40k for the 2019 MY that will run between roughly Q3 this year until Q2 next year.

Just my guess. What do ya’ll think they’ll do?

I’d rather see it much higher but I don’t want to overestimate and be disappinted!

 

Did GM already specify 2019 not 2018? They might have, but if so, I missed it. All I have found was that they were increasing production 'later this year'.

And I agree with you this probably isn't a spur of the moment decision in order to meet demand. My assumption is that GM and LG had already long planned a boost in battery sales before the official launch of the Bolt. They've known for years that they were gonna be up against the Model 3 in 2018 and that GM would have their last go at the full tax rebate this year.

With the rebate gone, they'll need to lower the price to compete with automakers who still have the credit and with Tesla who has 400k customers ready to part with their hard earned money.

In order to drop the price of production, they need to increase production. Launching 2 new EVs and expanding Bolt EV production may have provide them with some additional savings from LG.

So I have to think this was already planned to happen - so long as the consumer response to the Bolt was strong at least.

Again... all speculation on my part.

 

Yeah, I agree with you that Ampera-e sales will be way down.

Although in January Opel still pushed 350 units. So they're still selling the 2018 model at least... PSA has just closed off orders since there were so many already awaiting delivery in Norway. But you may be right that my 2,000 combined is too optimistic lol.

The 2019 model will likely be the last year of the Ampera-e. But I sure hope they can at least push 1,000 units out! I'm also hoping they can manage 1,000 sales between Mexico, Africa and the Middle East. I don't know if we'll ever get hard sales on those numbers though.