Chevrolet reports a great start in 2023 in the United States, with 398,141 vehicle deliveries (up 15.7 percent year-over-year), although it’s not yet on par with Q1 2021.
Our attention is focused on Chevrolet’s battery electric car (BEV) sales, which are surging right now.
Deliveries of the Chevrolet Bolt EV/Bolt EUV duo in Q1 amounted to 19,700 (up from 358 a year ago). That’s a new all-time quarterly record (actually the third consecutive one).
A year ago, production and sales were constrained by the massive battery-related recall (production resumed in April 2022).
Compared to the overall volume, the Bolt EV/Bolt EUV represent about 4.9 percent of the total Chevrolet sales (also a new high).
The chart below shows us how significantly sales of the Chevrolet Bolt EV/Bolt EUV increased. It does not surprise us, as the 2023 model year version, supported by the $7,500 federal tax credit starts effectively at around $20,000 (Bolt EV) and $21,300 (Bolt EUV). This is currently one of the top contenders in the mainstream, small-car segment.
For reference, in 2022, a total of 38,120 Chevrolet Bolt EV/EUV were delivered to customers in the US (up 53.5 percent year-over-year and 2.5 percent share of the total volume).
Chevrolet reiterated its production target of 70,000 units “to meet global demand”. That’s around 17,500 per quarter on average, which means that Q1 was already ahead of schedule. Previously manufacturing capacity was around 44,000 units annually.
The vast majority of Chevrolet Bolt EV/Bolt EUV sales are in the US, although the car is sold in other countries (Canada, South Korea) too. In the past (2017-2019), there was also an Opel Ampera-e clone available in some European countries, but that’s an old story today.
In the future, Chevrolet’s BEV lineup will be strengthened by the Chevrolet Silverado EV (deliveries to start in late Spring), Chevrolet Blazer EV, and Chevrolet Equinox EV.
