Bolt Price (official MSRP)

DC Quick charging is only needed for long trips. That's not the primary purpose of an EV. I charge my Leaf with L1, the 110vac 13A "emergency" EVSE.

It is great that they are actually releasing it. Still not sold on quality.

 

Because people are stupid. They want the 300mile EV so they can drive 40 miles and not "feel" that they're empty. My guess is many of those battery packs will sit barely cycled at all and just a waste of money of lithium. Just like the people that buy huge trucks so they can tow their boat they don't own 1000 miles on the vacation they won't ever take.

 

A gen1 Leaf may not have enough range to be a year round car for some.
The $2,445 difference between the Bolt LT and Leaf SV gets a person a more than 100% increase in range and an active cooling system. Both mean longer battery life in the car over the same commute. The DC fast charger is extra, but the longer range means the Bolt doesn't need it on trips in which the Leaf would.

The real competition will be the Ionic BEV, if Hyundai prices it for under $30k out the door.

 

The Bolt MSRP includes delivery; the Leaf doesn't, which is $850. The manufacturer incentive brings the Leaf down to what it is likely actually worth. The 107 mile range still has to work for a person year round, even at the $25k price point. Then the longer Bolt range may mean the car can be used beyond daily commute needs, and worth the extra cost.

GM had some great lease rates on the Volt, I expect the Bolt will too. There has also been good incentives on GM cars this year. These will likely apply to the Bolt after the newness wears off. GM needs to move the car for ZEV and CAFE credits. So the price advantage that the aging Leaf model has over the "not in showrooms" yet Bolt will likely shift over the year.

Between the Bolt, Ioniq BEV, and arriving shortly gen2 Leaf, this is probably the year to get a new Leaf if it works for you.

 

if the mass state incentive is 2500, i will give it a serious look.

 

YES, I bought a 2016 Volt because I had 305K on my 2004 Prius and just coouldn't wait anymore. I'll have the Volt for at least 10 years, unless the dealer wants to give a generous trade-in?! I'm not that concerned re the premium rather the best choice at the time.

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Actually here in the Bay Area there's a high concentration of hyper commuters who commute 100+ miles in a day Vacaville to SF 100 miles, SF to SJ 100 miles, Tracy to Mountain View 100 miles, Los Banos ... you get the point.

Do DC fast charging is really important for a commuter like me 53 miles one-way, it would take my Volt 3+ hours at a charge point Level 2 to recharge, but with DC like my Leaf brethren, only 30 minutes, eh?

I wonder if Chevy will offer a $750 upgrade for the Volt?

 

Your price comparison isn't a like to like one, because it relies on GM not offering any incentives. That is only going to happen if the Bolt is a major hit, and GM has trouble keeping production up to meet demand. The more likely scenario is like what we've seen with the gen4 Prius, where factory incentives were added once the initial demand was met.

This is why I stuck to the MSRP for the comparison. Nissan can afford to discount more because the Leaf is due for a redesign and has a smaller battery, but GM sells more trucks than Nissan, and likely wants to entice people away from waiting a year or so for the Model 3.

Extremely unlikely.
The Volt has an ICE it is carrying around.
The way fast charging ramps the voltage makes it likely that a Volt would take almost as long as a Leaf to reach full charge.
The markets where PHEVs do have fast DC charge options is because the ability to charge at home isn't as likely as in the US, and if it is available, it is at slower rates. For example, the Prime has CHAdeMO in Japan. Electric service to many homes there mean level 2 charging isn't possible, and fully charging the Prime's 8.8kWh pack could take over 10 hours.

 

how is $2,000. customers cash a discount?

 

You asked why not get the cheaper Leaf, and part of my response to that was that the Leaf wasn't that cheap. I went to Nissan's site, and had to 'build' a leaf to see their delivery charges. I now see that I could get 0% financing with $4000 cash back for my zip code, along with the lease deal. Any other incentives are buried or not there. Which will hurt Nissan if they want to sway buyers looking at the Bolt.

The incentives are important for the final price, but we are discussing a car available for sale and one that isn't yet. I agree the Bolt won't have any incentives at first. That can change quickly though. 2016 was the first model year of the gen2 Volt. At times during this year, it was included in the "20% of MSRP" incentives Chevy was running on their cars.

As I stated before, GM sells more trucks than Nissan. The Bolt's high mpge and multiplier for being a BEV will likely make it more valuable for GM to get on the road than maximizing the profits from it when it comes to their CAFE rating. That's the reason for the big incentives on their cars. Then there is the ZEV credits for CARB a sold Bolt will get them on top of balancing out their truck sales.

The Bolt not having factory incentives for an extended period of time during the last year of the gen1 Leaf is an assumption that may not bear out. Then the people that would take a Leaf over a Bolt likely already got one, or are waiting for the Ioniq BEV.

 

Pretty opinionated and hard on people that you do not know .... or have any idea whatsoever about their short and long-term plans..

 

Opinionated but accurate. No reason to sugar coat the truth.

Same people that buy huge F-350s around here because they need to "get through the snow". Well, I've done it for many years in FWD vehicles with 6-inches or less ground clearance. I've also been offroading in many places that are marked "4x4 only" with the Prius.

What's even funnier is when the big truck they buy is RWD and not a 4x4. Come the first snow, they are the ones spinning out while I pass them all in the Leaf or Prius.

 

bloomberg claims gm to lose $8-9,000. per bolt, 'according to someone familiar with the matter'.