2026 Chevy Bolt EV will be most affordable US EV

When the Chevrolet Bolt EV returns next year it will be the most affordable EV in the U.S., Marissa West, president of General Motors North America, said in a recently published interview with Automotive News.

GM discontinued the Bolt EV at the end of 2023 but has since then emphasized it’s coming back. The next-generation Bolt EV will share Ultium underpinnings with other GM EVs, providing the scale necessary to achieve a low price point, according to West.

2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV

“We’re really excited to get the Bolt with the Ultium architecture underpinnings to have the most affordable vehicle on the market by 2025,” West said, adding that the Ultium underpinnings will afford “great range” and a “really good charging time.”

GM has confirmed that the next-generation Bolt EV will be built at GM’s Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas—starting in late 2025, which almost certainly makes it a 2026 model based on GM’s model-year cadence. At the Kansas plant it replaces the gasoline Chevy Malibu midsize sedan that is now winding down production. It’s due to build a “low-cost” version of the Bolt EV with LFP battery cells, and GM has indicated it will be the first Ultium product in the U.S. to use that chemistry.

2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV

The Bolt EV was launched as a 2017 model, and at the time was considered a major coup for EV affordability. A 2022 model-year revamp made the Bolt EV a better vehicle, and added a Bolt EUV variant to the lineup.

The Bolt EV’s legacy isn’t unblemished, though. A 2021 recall eventually spanned roughly 140,000 Bolt EV and Bolt EUV vehicles in North America after two specific manufacturing defects in battery cells supplied by GM partner LG Energy Solution led to many fires. GM replaced battery modules—and even entire packs—in some cars, while other owners got up to $1,400 as part of a class action settlement against GM and LG.