Chevy Bolt Nationwide Release Moved Up In a Possible Counter To Model 3 Launch
General Motors is moving up the nationwide release of their Bolt electric car to August, a month earlier than what was originally planned. This decision may be a counter move to its rival, the Tesla Model 3, which begins production this July and should see new orders fulfilled in 2018.
The Tesla Model 3 is set to begin production in July with orders being fulfilled soon after, but with nearly 400,000 reservations made, new orders for the Model 3 should see a delay up to mid-2018. It seems that GM is taking advantage of the potential hold up to win over some customers.
A GM representative spoke to Automotive News and said that the early rollout was due to ahead of schedule staff training and inventory for the Bolt.
https://twitter.com/verge/status/873893957356441600
The Bolt had previously been released in California and Oregon and expanded to MA, MD, VA, NY, and NJ by April. It seems the hope here is that those impatient for waiting on the Model 3 might switch gears and opt for the Bolt instead, which has a similar $35,000 price point and 200+ mile range.
Much of this rivalry depends on how closely Tesla can stick to their planned release timeline for the Model 3, and while the Chevy Bolt may not take a big enough chunk out of Tesla if the Model 3 is indeed delayed, I’m sure any lost sales is something that Tesla would like to avoid. Time will tell how this all plays out, but either way, we’re getting closer!
SOURCE | Fortune
