The lifespan of the just re-launched Chevrolet Bolt will, we learned today, end up being very short. The automaker confirmed this week that it will stop production of the EV towards the middle of 2027, after barely 18 months on the market. The 2027 Bolt EV will thus have existed for... one model-year.
Last fall, GM unveiled the new, reborn Bolt EV and made mention of planning only limited production of the model. Many might have assumed the carmaker was referring to the number of vehicles produced per year, but it turns out, GM saw the end of the road for Bolt EV before it even got on it.
And so, GM’s plant in Fairfax in Kansas, which now produces the Bolt EV, will wrap that up in 2027. That will make for increasing production of the non-electric Equinox SUV, and then in 2028 of the next edition of the Buick Envision. That SUV is currently produced in China, but moving assembly stateside will allow GM to avoid the punishing tariffs imposed by the U.S. on imported Chinese-made vehicles.
While it’s possible to follow the reasoning used by GM that led it to the decisions it’s making regarding its lineup, it’s also possible to flummoxed by it. The automaker, recall, had been compelled to resurrect the Bolt EV due to strong demand for a model it had killed off. The automaker even expects the small hatchback to account for a large portion of Chevrolet’s EV sales in 2026 (and that’s taking into account the presence of the popular and well-received Equinox EV).
Clearly, the decision to limit the Bolt EV’s lifespan isn’t due to slow sales, or the expectation thereof. And in any case, the $4 billion U.S. investment plan announced by GM last June calls for the development of an affordably priced new-generation electric vehicle. We can assume that that model, if it comes to pass, will be the spiritual if not literal successor to the Bolt EV, an affordably priced electric vehicle that consumers liked but seems to have been born to die prematurely. After all, this is the second time it’s being killed off.
