Number One Chevrolet Bolt Delivered Right In Tesla's Back Yard

Coincidence or not, the first Chevrolet Bolt is going to be delivered to customers living in Tesla's backyard, Fremont, California, Chevy's main rival in the electric auto stakes 3 miles from Tesla's factory.

The three custodians of the Chevy Bolts, one being a retired law enforcement officer previously owned a Chevy Spark and a Chevy Volt, another who is replacing a BMW i3 and the last a Toyota Prius. This will be just the first of hundreds which will be shipped out before the end of year.

I just wonder if Tesla employees will be staring out the window at lunchtime, seeing the odd Chevy Bolt whisper by......grrrrrr!

“All of the hard work that the Chevrolet team have put into designing, engineering and building the Bolt EV brings us to this truly satisfying moment of making the first deliveries to customers on-time, as planned. Only Chevrolet is able to offer a vehicle like the Bolt EV, with ground-breaking technology wrapped in a modern design that is also fun-to-drive at an affordable price,” said Alan Batey president of General Motors N. America.

As the world starts to look forward or at least automakers that is to a future of electric powered vehicles, Chevy are the first to produce a vehicle with a 200 mile plus range, 238 miles to be precise. The chevy Bolt starts at $37,495, with the first owners having options taking the pricetag over $40,000. This will have a federal tax credit of $7500. Quite pricey for a Chevrolet, but maybe not for a 200 mile range EV at this point in time.
Tesla has its own offerings in the form of the model S and the model X, but they are still over the $30,000 price barrier. The first deliveries of the Bolt will be going to California and Oregon and then onto other states with Zero emission(ZEV) mandates. Nationwide availability should then follow in 2017.

“Bolt EVs are currently in transit to California and Oregon markets and are arriving this month. A national rollout begins in 2017, and a number of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States including New York, Massachusetts and Virginia will see first deliveries this winter. Bolt EVs will arrive to more dealerships in additional major metro markets throughout the first half of 2017. The Bolt EV will be available at Bolt EV-certified dealerships across the United States in mid-2017.”

Heading up the EV Race
Although Tesla are trying to cover all bases with performance EVs and commuter EVs, the Chevy Bolt is available now, although at a higher pricetag than the proposed model 3 at $35,000. the model 3 planned for shipping in late 2017.

However, Tesla has a very healthy following and make a point of pushing and promoting the latest in EV technology. Tesla has also gone under the radar by opening a showroom in Michigan, home to Chevrolet and the like, where they cannot sell their own vehicles. Instead, they are only allowed to display the vehicles and point people in the direction of their website.

Tesla and Chevrolet are not the only Ev automakers with plans for 200 mile plus range vehicles. Nissan motors, Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler all have their own plans, but nothing official as yet.