Detroit Motor Show - General Motors has doubled it foothold in the electric-car market, unveiling the new Chevrolet Bolt battery car to challenge Tesla, and a snazzy updated Volt.
The Bolt, still in concept form but reportedly not far from heading into serious development, is a hatchback-looking “small crossover” with a claimed range of more than 300km that lowers the price of entry to an electric car with decent range to $30 000 (R345 000).
GM chief executive Mary Barra, unveiling the long-held secret at the Detroit auto show, called the Bolt “a real game-changer” in the electric vehicle market.
“This is truly an EV for everyone,” she said, implicitly contrasting the Bolt with Tesla's best-selling 425km-range Model S, a luxury electric with a base price of $70 000 (R806 400).
CHEAPER FUEL A CHALLENGE
The Bolt, much smaller than the Model S, would clearly focus on a different market, but it registers a challenge to Tesla's hopes of coming up with a cheaper pure electric car, as well as to BMW's i3 electric, with its 130 km range.
At the same time, Barra introduced an all-new model of the Chevy Volt, GM's four-year-old extended-range electric car that, while remaining the best-selling US electric, has still not captured a mass audience.
However, each faces a potent challenge: the plunge in fuel prices that has made energy-saving cars less attractive, with American customers content to buy less efficient SUVs and trucks.
AFP