Why GM is killing the Chevy Bolt — America’s cheapest EV — amid record sales

DETROIT — After years of lackluster performance and a fire-provoked recall, the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt EV was finally gaining traction for General Motors.

As America’s cheapest EV following significant price cuts, U.S. sales of the Chevy Bolt were up more than 50% last year and the automaker said it would make a record 70,000 units in 2023.

But instead of leaning further into the vehicle’s recent success and increased production, GM CEO Mary Barra on Tuesday said the automaker would end production later this year of the vehicle she once hailed as a “real game-changer” for the industry and an “EV for everyone.”

“We have progressed so far that it’s now time to plan to end the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV production, which will happen at the very end of the year,” Barra told investors during an earnings call.

Barra’s comments about the vehicle getting axed were as swift as a butcher cutting the head off a chicken but spoke volumes when combined with the company’s plans to churn out profitable electric vehicles in the years ahead.

GM is on a path to deliver single-digit profits off its EV portfolio by 2025, when it aims to have a production capacity of 1 million electric vehicles in North America.

To reach those goals, GM needs the production capacity, profits and market positioning of its forthcoming next-generation EVs. It doesn’t believe it needs the Bolt.

To industry experts, the writing was on the wall for the Bolt’s end of days. But the timing of the decision caught many experts off guard. Expectations were GM would produce the vehicle at least into next year.

“It was more sudden than I expected,” said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Detroit-based Cox Automotive. “I thought it would go away at some point when new batteries came on and they went to more body styles, but it struck me as rather abrupt.”