Chevy Starts Building Its Cheap EV This Year, But Another One Is On The Way

2027 Chevy Bolt Will Enter Production Later This Year
In April 2023, General Motors announced that it was ending production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV, bringing an end to one of the most affordable EVs ever offered in America. GM CEO Mary Barra hinted at the return of the Bolt on the Ultium platform a couple of months later, and then it was made official in June of that year. We've since learned that the second-generation Bolt will debut in 2025, and now GM has announced that production is scheduled to begin later this year for the 2027 model year. With shifting EV demand and changing legislation, it was unclear if the Bolt would still arrive this year, so this is good news. Better still, Chevy has another affordable EV in the works.
Cheap EVs From Big Investments
The news comes as part of an announcement in which GM has committed roughly $4 billion to three factories over the next two years. These factories will support both combustion and electric vehicle production, and the one we're most interested in is the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas. This is where the 2027 Bolt (likely a subcompact crossover like the old EUV) will enter production by the end of this year, which should help keep its cost of entry low. Chevy's press release didn't say what price it was aiming for, but the old one started under $28,000. This new generation will likely be taller and a little bigger, but we still expect it to cost around $30k. It all depends on where Chevy intends to position it relative to another 'affordable EV' that is scheduled to enter production sometime in mid-2027 – details unknown.
Alongside the Kansas plant, GM will also upgrade its facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee, where the XT5 SUV is being built. It's also the site of Cadillac Lyriq and Vistiq production, so it's capable of handling gas and electric cars. The remaining plant is the Orion Assembly Plant in Michigan, Detroit, which was initially meant to begin producing the Silverado EV and its GMC Sierra EV sibling late last year. With the EV landscape still somewhat uncertain, those plans have been delayed to later this year, with the Michigan plant now instead set to produce gas-powered light-duty pickups and full-size SUVs in early 2027. As for the electric pickups that were supposed to be built here, they will get a dedicated site at GM's Factory Zero Detroit-Hamtramck facility, where the Escalade IQ and Hummer EV will join them. GM is clearly hedging its bets and preparing to build as many strong-selling cars as possible within U.S. borders in an effort to be prepared for whatever comes next, and if EVs see an uptick, it should be ready to change tack.
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