I have some good news and some bad news:
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve always felt the Bolt EV would make an amazing delivery vehicle for businesses, like caterers and florists, and I was excited to hear General Motors is going to produce a Bolt EV, specifically configured for that task.
Well, here’s the latest update:
I received an email this morning:
Effective Immediately: 2019MY Chevrolet Bolt EV Fleet Ordering Suspended until Q4.
Due to influx of orders, and high fleet demand of this product, GM Fleet will suspend new ordering immediately for all 2019MY Bolt EV models. We expect to resume ordering again in mid Q4 of this year for production starting in January 2019.
I’m hoping for some clarification later this morning and will update this post, when I receive it. The email says GM FLEET will suspend ordering ALL models. Does this mean those ordered by individuals, rather than businesses, will still go into production on July 31st, as originally planned, or will all production be delayed until January 2019?
Hopefully, this email only affects Fleet configurations. 2017 and 2018 Bolt EV inventory is drying up. Classic Chevrolet had high inventory levels (for Texas, anyway) back in November. There were 21 Bolt EVs in stock back then, but our inventory is down to one 2017 and three 2018s, and that’s the highest level currently in the Dallas / Fort Worth area! The looming end for the Federal Income Tax Credit of $7,500 makes this a very serious concern for me and my clients. I’ve been scrambling to supply Bolt EVs for my clients, by trading Silverados, Tahoes, etc with other dealers, to get them. Selection has been a huge issue for me and I’ve spoken with the owner and the General Manager of the dealership to try to understand what’s going on.
My most recent search for available Bolt EVs to sell, within a 250 mile radius of my location, yielded the following:
- 9 2017 Bolt EVs (2LT model)
- 5 2017 Bolt EVs (Premier model)
- 17 2018 Bolt EVs (LT model)
- 19 2018 Bolt EVs (Premier model)
That’s 50 Bolt EVs for a 196,350 square mile area! Admittedly, a lot of that area is open ranch land, but holy cow!
Even if the 2019 non-Fleet models go into production, on July 31st, that still means they won’t start arriving at dealerships until mid-October or later. This is perilously close to my predicted end of the tax credit. My best advice is, if you want to get the text credit and cannot find a 2017 or 2018 Bolt EV that meets your needs, that you order one as soon as orders begin being accepted by General Motors.
Stay tuned…
