It was a tragic day late final month when GM introduced plans to discontinue the Chevy Bolt. GM CEO Mary Barra stated throughout an earnings name that “out of date battery design” was a key motive for its demise.

This is sensible, particularly as new EV customers are more and more on the lookout for quick charging choices. Contemplating the Bolt’s charging pace topped out at 100 miles of vary in half-hour, it made sense to transition to a battery system able to sooner fueling. The brand new Ultium battery platform will enhance the pace at which the battery expenses, however die-hard followers may ask why GM selected to not develop a Bolt on the Ultium platform.

That query stays puzzling, particularly as Bolt gross sales are booming. For the previous three quarters the Bolt broke its personal gross sales data. In Q1 of 2023, gross sales of the Bolt reached virtually 20,000 models. And, in line with Inside EVs, “In comparison with the general quantity, the Bolt EV/Bolt EUV signify about 4.9 p.c of the overall Chevrolet gross sales.”

But monetary analysts who preserve rating acknowledge that a number of good quarters don’t make up for the price of transitioning to all-electric. An analyst at Morgan Stanley discovered that over 95 p.c of GM’s revenues are “at present inner combustion derived.” 

And GM isn’t alone in balancing its transition to EVs with a reliance on income from inner combustion engines. Ford’s newest quarterly earnings name revealed it plans to lose billions on its path to electrification. Its newly minted Ford-E model posted greater than $700 million in losses throughout Q1. However each Ford and GM are taking part in a protracted sport that ought to pay dividends as soon as their factories, automobile improvement and battery R&D are totally constructed out. Even Tesla’s Elon Musk praised the deficit technique as “good.”

How does this have an effect on fleets?

With out the Bolt, American automakers are leaving a gaping gap within the light-duty fleet market. From low-cost supply providers, to couriers and governments, the Bolt was a no brainer for light-duty electrical fleets. 

As an example in late 2022, Domino’s Pizza introduced plans so as to add 800 Chevy Bolts to its supply fleet. Ed Peper, vice chairman of GM Fleet, stated, “With an reasonably priced value, enjoyable driving traits, and a 259-mile vary, the Chevy Bolt EV is the way forward for Domino’s electrified deliveries.” However that future turned chilly sooner than a late supply pizza. The tip of the Bolt, with no inheritor obvious, represents a significant loss for supply drivers. 

The issue goes past simply pizza. Governments on the lookout for the bottom upfront prices to electrifying proudly bought Bolts for his or her fleets. For instance, in January, New York Metropolis introduced it bought 382 Bolts, 360 Ford E-Transit vans and 150 Ford F-150 E-Lightning pickup vans, of which the Bolt accounted for over 40 p.c. It was the small automobile of alternative for the town. This added to the almost 850 Bolts already within the New York Metropolis fleet. For metropolis employees who don’t have to haul, arrest or chase, the worth and dimension match the town’s funds and congested streets.

However what is going to grow to be of those fleets when it’s time to exchange the Bolt? What reasonably priced, over 250-mile vary, urban-sized automobile will fill this area of interest?

Inexperienced questions

Then there are the considerations about whether or not the pattern towards bigger EVs will in the end profit the atmosphere and customers’ pocketbooks. Some eulogies for the Bolt didn’t mince phrases:

Gizmodo: “The Loss of life of the Chevy Bolt Is Dangerous Information for Earth”

The Verge: “GM killed the Chevy Bolt — and the dream of a small, reasonably priced EV”

The Data: “GM’s Baffling Determination to Kill the Magnificently Priced Bolt EV”

A typical thread operating via even the kindest protection was that discontinuing smaller automobiles whereas more and more producing bigger automobiles was not optimum for sustainability.

Assets comparable to essential minerals ranked among the many highest considerations. Bigger electrical automobiles require greater, extra resource-intensive batteries to realize the pace and vary customers anticipate. Mining uncommon earth metals comparable to lithium, cobalt and nickel have important environmental and humanitarian impacts, which can solely be exacerbated by the rising manufacturing for electrical SUVs and pickups.

And whereas transitioning to EVs is a essential step to mitigate local weather change, bigger automobiles — even when they’re electrical — are nonetheless dangerous to the atmosphere. The manufacturing of their part components, comparable to metal, plastics and circuitry, all embrace embedded carbon emissions. Moreover, in accordance to a research by Peter Huether of ACEEE, “Inefficient and heavy EVs have decrease environmental impacts than equally sized gasoline-fueled automobiles, however they underperform extra environment friendly EVs.” The research discovered:

A comparability of three fashions which might be out there in each electrical and gasoline-fueled variations — the Mini Cooper Hardtop, Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin, and Ford F-150 — demonstrates that whereas the EV variations have decrease environmental impacts than their inner combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, heavier and fewer environment friendly automobiles trigger extra environmental injury, whether or not they’re gasoline-fueled or electrical.  

Put merely, Huether stated, “Not all electrical automobiles are created equal.”

Lastly, what about customers who need or want a low-cost automobile? The 2023 Bolt’s beginning value at $27,495 made it the least expensive EV out there. Mercifully, GM’s new electrical Chevy Equinox will begin at $30,000, however that’s nonetheless way more costly than an equal gas-powered automobile. The Bolt was additionally the least costly EV that certified for the newest iteration of the federal EV tax credit score. This can ultimately have an effect on the used automobile market the place 70 p.c of American customers buy their automobiles.

Finally, the Bolt might be missed. And, for the sake of our planet, our pocketbooks and our pizzas, I hope a brand new automobile will fill the Bolt-shaped gap in our hearts.