UAW Reveals GM Building a Cheaper Chevy Bolt

As part of the new deal with the UAW, General Motors committed to $13.3 billion in new investment during the life of the contract. One of those is a cheaper Chevrolet Bolt EV, union chief Shawn Fain revealed.

The next version of the Chevrolet Bolt EV will be less expensive than the second-gen model and be built in Kanas.

Anyone pinning their hopes on getting some cheaper electric vehicles when they woke up Monday must have thought Christmas came early as it was revealed by the UAW, General Motors plans to build a cheaper version of the Chevrolet Bolt.

The revelation, which came as part of UAW chief Shawn Fain’s review of the tentative deal with the auto company, came on the heels of reports Tesla is readying to produce a new sub-25K euro, or about $27,000, EV at its plant in Germany.

The less expensive Bolt is part of $13.3 billion in new investment GM committed to as part of its 4.5-year agreement with its union. The new compact EV will produced at its plant in Fairfax, Kansas, Reuters reported, in 2025. Premium EVs for Cadillac and Chevrolet, expected to begin production in 2027, will be built at its Lansing Grand River Plant in Lansing, Michigan.

UAW President Shawn Fain revealed some of the plans for the next iteration of the Chevrolet Bolt.

GM is investing $1.3 billion in the Lansing facility and $391 million in the Fairfax plant to prepare for EV production, the UAW noted. GM officials were mum.

“We’ll have more specifics around product details moving forward,” GM officials said in a statement to the media.

The UAW didn’t outline what products or timing for GM’s Fairfax and Lansing plants. GM currently builds the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac XT at Fairfax and the Cadillac CT4 and CT5 and Chevrolet Camaro in Lansing. All of the vehicles have combustion engines.

Bolt is back

The Chevy Bolt was GM’s first mass produced EV, starting in 2016. The second-generation model arrived in 2021 with a larger sibling, the Bolt EUV. The two small crossovers paved the way for the company’s Ultium battery system, leading to the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV and more.

Earlier this year, GM CEO Mary Barra offered a bit of a surprise, saying the company would discontinue production of the Bolt. Chevrolet changed the pricing on the Bolt EV making it one of the most affordable models on the road once tax credits were included.

Tesla’s also looking to build a cheaper EV, reportedly coming in at about $27,000.

The reason for Bolt’s departure from the lineup was that new versions were being developed but little more was made known — until the UAW’s livestream event to help members with the details of the new contract.

GM is slowing down on its EV push to ensure demand and production line up more favorably — or profitably. General Motors has pushed back until late 2025 the reopening of its Orion Assembly Plant, a development that will significantly delay the rollout of two new all-electric pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the GMC Sierra EV.

In a statement released Oct. 18, the automaker said it is intended “to better manage capital investment while aligning with evolving EV demand.” The automaker also noted that it is making engineering revisions that should help lower costs and “increase the profitability of our products.”