The First Chevrolet Bolts Have Owners

And just like that, the first of the Chevy Bolts have homes. General Motors has delivered the Bolt EVs to its first three customers. So let’s meet the lucky guys, shall we? The three new owners are a retiree from Fremont who’d previously driven a Chevrolet Spark EV; a software developer in Castro Valley who ditched his BMW i3; and a real estate broker from Portola Valley who traded in his Prius. Needless to say, the Bay Area emissions won’t reduce dramatically due to these three EVs.

What’s next? Chevy plans to deliver more Bolts to customers in California and Oregon this month. By next year, deliveries will start in New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia. By mid-2017, the car should be available nationwide.

The Bolt holds a base price of $37,495 and has a single-charge range of 238 miles. And it’s not just us that’s impressed. The car took home the 2017 Green Car of the Year award from Green Car Journal and was named Motor Trend’s 2017 Car of the Year. The car is truly in a league of its own (for now). It’s expected to compete with the Tesla Model 3 at about the same price and range points, but the Tesla may not make its debut until 2018.

Experts have forecast some big things for the Bolt, and we don’t disagree. Earlier this year, Kelley Blue Book analyst Karl Brauer said Chevy would move between 30,000 and 80,000 Bolts during the first year of sales.

Source: AutoBlog

Video Source: Chevrolet