The Chevy-vs.-Tesla title fight to be the first to introduce an affordable electric car with a 200-mile driving range is on. In the Tesla corner we have a lithe, relatively quick-on-its-feet upstart automaker that's a Wall Street darling and has lots of momentum working on the new Model 3. In the opposite corner sits Chevrolet and the leviathan General Motors, which are working on the 2017 Bolt. Who will win? Well, according to Reuters, the establishment has wound up and struck the first blow to the Silicon Valley rookies.
Two industry sources told Reuters that the Chevy Bolt, which was previewed in concept form at the 2015 Detroit auto show, will be assembled at a GM factory just north of Detroit starting in October 2016. (The car's Opel equivalent will also be built there and exported to Europe.) That would put the little EV on track to meet Chevy's stated goal of putting it on sale in early 2017.
In contrast, Tesla Motors has yet to deliver even a concept version of the Model 3. Nor has it been able to lock down the Model X crossover it's been saying it will build for the past three years. That doesn't inspire confidence that the company can deliver on the smaller, cheaper, all-new model before Chevrolet cranks out its first Bolt.
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- Chevrolet Bolt EV Concept: 200-Mile Electric Range, $38K
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Of course, Tesla hasn't come out and said it wants to beat Chevrolet in this race (the CEO Elon Musk doesn't even think the two cars will be competitors), but the company has said it wants to deliver the first Model 3s in 2017. In the face of the Model X delays and the Model S sedan aging, the Silicon Valley car manufacturer needs fresh product—and more affordable product—to keep the public and investors interested. With the electric-car market still tiny, the Bolt's more timely introduction could sop up buyers that otherwise would have bought a Model 3. The great mid-$30,000-EV race is on, it seems.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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