Chevy Bolt second generation confirmed for 2025 debut

The current-generation Chevrolet Bolt will retire before the end of 2023, but the nameplate won't remain dormant for long. General Motors CEO Mary Barra confirmed that a second-generation Bolt will make its debut at some point in 2025 using newer battery technology.

In the United States, Chevrolet sold 11,029 units of the Bolt in 2022, a 50% drop compared to 2021 that can be at least partially attributed to the launch of the bigger Bolt EUV. While the Bolt isn't a volume model (the Camaro outsold it), Barra argues that the folks who buy one love it, according to Automotive News. This suggests the next-generation model will remained positioned as a relatively affordable entry-level EV.

Technical specifications haven't been released yet. All we know is that the next-generation Bolt will remain electric; you didn't think it would get the Corvette's 6.2-liter V8, did you? While the current car uses older technology, its replacement is being designed around the Ultium technology that powers the newer battery-powered models in the General Motors portfolio. Barra previously revealed that the battery pack will use lithium-iron-phosphate cells, Automotive News reported, and that the model will be built "at a lower cost and on a faster timeline."

For context, the 2023 Bolt starts at $27,495 including a $995 destination charge. It's one of the cheapest EVs on the market. Building its successor "at a lower cost" doesn't necessarily mean it will cost less to buy; General Motors may simply want to increase its profit margins.

Where the next-generation Bolt will be built remains up in the air. Chevrolet makes the current model at the Orion Assembly Plant in the Detroit area, but that factory will soon be retooled to build electric trucks like the Silverado EV and the GMC Sierra EV. 

More details about the second-generation Chevrolet Bolt should emerge in the coming months. Interestingly, the Bolt EUV will retire at the end of 2023 as well, meaning it will have only been available for two model years. Time will tell whether it gets a successor as well, or if the lineup gets streamlined into a single model. While this is pure speculation, we're guessing Chevrolet will take the latter route.