GM Aims to take on Tesla and Nissan with impressive new Bolt

• US EV sales so far in 2025
• Market expectations of the new Bolt

While not much is known about the new Chevy Bolt EV (other than it’s coming), this is the most significant car announcement this year, and may shape the car market in the next few years. A lot of hyperbole for a cheap EV, you say? I say this EV is the way of the future. The Chevy Bolt will rattle Tesla’s cage big time, and give Nissan a big fright.

The perceived wisdom is that the march of the EV has stalled in the US, and that the lifecycle of the hybrid as a stopgap measure will be extended for the foreseeable future. Perceived wisdom is wrong — it is Tesla that has stalled, and with it Tesla competitors like the Kia EV6.

I’m not alone in loving the benefits of driving an EV, but for most of us, they’re priced way above our budgets. In Europe, for example, the $23K BYD Dolphin Surf is really popular. The $20K bare-bones Slate pickup got a lot of attention in the US, but they will have to rejig their offering now. A new Bolt coming in at around $30K should hit the sweet spot and I will definitely have a look at it.

US EV sales so far in 2025

Tesla still dominates, GM gaining ground

When I look at recent EV sales, I see a preference for affordability. While the Tesla twins Model Y and Model 3 still dominated EV sales in the first half of 2025, the pricier Model Y lost market share, while the more affordable Model 3 gained ground. The $37K Ford Mustang Mach-E, which was the third best-selling EV in the US despite not qualifying for a tax credit, dropped a place to the $34K Chevy Equinox — which with the tax credit, rings in under $27K.

Now that the tax credit has come to an end, the only sub-$30K EV is the Nissan Leaf, nice, but this car is not in the same league as the Equinox or even the Hyundai Kona EV.

Chevy vs Nissan

The Nissan Leaf was the first affordable EV in 2010, and it has stayed in contention through the years, even as other models overtook it in specs. The current 150-mile range model falls short of expectations.

There is a new Leaf promised for next year, and while details are scarce, its range is expected to exceed 300 miles, while the fast-charging bugbear that bedeviled the current Leaf appears to have been fixed. The crunch will come in the price, as the Leaf currently has a longer range option starting at $35K+, which puts it in direct competition with the more compelling Equinox and even the Mach-E.

Chevy vs Tesla

There is clearly a place in the market for $30K EV, and that space will become more competitive after the EV tax incentive fell away. With the tax credit, the cheapest Model 3 Tesla had cost $34,990. Since the credit left, the same car will now cost you $42,490.

The current Equinox, at $34K, competes very well against the two top Teslas, because Chevrolet has found the sweet spot in practical utility, making an EV blandly affordable — while still offering enough real-world niceness to appeal to buyers.

A $30K Bolt, updated to 2026 standards, will be a very competitive alternative to a $43K Model 3. Tesla has long promised a cheaper car, a Model 2 perhaps, and the new Bolt may force it to pull the lever on this. If Tesla does launch a competitively-priced EV, the big winner will be the US car buyer.

Market expectations of the new Bolt

Little detail, much speculation

The old Chevy Bolt pictured above was launched in 2016, and production ceased in 2023. At the time, it was the cheapest EV in the US, going head-to-head with the Nissan Leaf, but beating the Japanese rival in most EV metrics. The Bolt was a small hatchback, had a range of 260 miles, and could quick-charge at 50kWh — not exactly world-class, but better than the Leaf.

GM did not release any details, beside the year model and the four teaser pictures at the head of this article, but expectations are that the new Bolt will mirror much of the interior of the Equinox, so possibly the 17.7-inch touchscreen running Google apps and navigation.

Launch date

The bare-bones press release mentioned the new Bolt as the 2027 model, which means it should hit showrooms sometime in 2026. I know GM has been investing in US-based battery tech, and I expect the new Bolt to come with cheaper LFP batteries.

The new Bolt will still be a small hatch, as Chevrolet already has a compact crossover in the Equinox. I expect the new Bolt to have a range closer to 300 miles, but with charging speeds at around 150 kWh like the Equinox, to save on costs.