Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Will the Model 3 Obliterate the Bolt?

General Motors is really good at a lot of things:

  • Its pickup trucks are among the best in the world.
  • Few can compete with its muscle cars.
  • It has figured out how to build great electric cars.
  • Its manufacturing processes are lean and efficient.

But its marketing abilities? Not so much.

The electric Chevy Bolt is one of the most innovative vehicles to hit the market in the last few decades. Being the first car with a price of around $30,000 (after a $7,500 federal tax rebate, which may be disappearing) and a range of over 200 miles, it’s the most affordable electric car with the longest range of all EVs currently available.

The Bolt is currently all alone in its category. Its reviews are good across the board. The car has earned praise not for being overly exceptional, but for being “utterly non-remarkable,” in the words of our own Christian Wardlaw. It may not sound like much, but that’s actually pretty high praise for an alternative-fuel car that’s still on the fringes of the mainstream.

Chevrolet sells about 3,000 Bolts per month. That’s not too bad, and maybe the company is happy enough with those numbers to refrain from any heavy marketing campaigns.

But the introduction of the $35,000 Tesla Model 3, the mid-priced EV from Elon Musk, looms. That’s assuming, of course, that the California company can pull itself out of “production hell” and start delivering on pre-orders. Tesla has said that by the end of 2018, it hopes to sell up to 40,000 versions of the Model 3 every month, which would obliterate the Bolt.

If that sounds overly ambitious, you’re probably right. That number would outsell the BMW 3 Series by about four times and set an entirely new precedent in the world of automotive sales.

But does the general public know about this? Is there a buzzworthy hype surrounding the Bolt?

Nope.

The Detroit News wrote,

[I]t’s puzzling to some industry observers that Chevrolet isn’t making more noise about its product. With all that’s riding on the Bolt for GM — the Detroit automaker is using the compact crossover as a platform for at least two more electric vehicles in the next 18 months — better brand awareness will be key.

While the Bolt may have technical prowess, it doesn’t have the luscious curves and tempting silhouette of the Model 3. We can’t help but wonder if maybe “utterly non-remarkable” is not what people want. They demand remarkable, and the Model 3 promises to deliver.

Eventually.

It’s possible that Chevy is calling Tesla’s bluff and letting the existence and availability of the Bolt speak for itself.

Which camp are you in: Chevy Bolt or Tesla Model 3?

-tgriffith

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Will the Model 3 Obliterate the Bolt? posted first on http://www.cargurus.com/blog/

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