General Motors has announced an updated price list for the Chevrolet Equinox EV today. The automaker confirmed that the Equinox EV 1LT, the base model of the crossover, will start at $34,995. The price is well above GM’s earlier promise of a $30,000 base variant, but there’s some good news in terms of federal tax credits to offset that.
GM has indicated that order books will soon open for most models, but the base variant will be available to book later in 2024. It has not specified an exact date for the 1LT’s availability. GM expects the Equinox EV 1LT to become the most affordable electric car in the U.S. with over 300 miles of range.
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The Equinox EV can be the most affordable EV with 300+ miles of range.
GM’s electric vehicle rollout has experienced setbacks due to software glitches and engineering and production challenges. If the Equinox EV lives up to GM’s pledges, it can steer the company toward achieving its emissions goals.
Here’s the MSRP for the rest of the Equinox EV variants, including destination charge, but excluding tax, title, and dealer fees:
- 1LT FWD starting at $34,995 (available later in 2024)
- 2LT FWD starting at $43,295
- 2RS FWD starting at $44,795
- 3LT FWD starting at $45,295
- 3RS FWD starting at $46,795
Also worth noting is the Equinox EV’s eligibility for the $7,500 federal tax credit. With the credit applied, eligible buyers could get the Equinox EV 1LT for as low as $27,495, and the 2LT for $35,795, GM said today in a statement. The next most affordable model after the Equinox EV to offer more than 300 miles of range is the Tesla Model Y Long-Range, priced at just over $40,000 after applying the tax credit.
GM also confirmed that the Equinox EV AWD has achieved an EPA-estimated range of 285 miles—however, AWD prices are yet to be announced. If GM delivers on the reliability front, and if the base Equinox can indeed cover over 300 miles, it could become a serious challenger to the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Volkswagen ID.4, and the Volvo EX30 among others—that is if the company can meet the demand and churns EVs at volume.
The Equinox EV has been delayed by several months. GM CEO Mary Barra said in her Q3 2023 earnings letter to shareholders that the company needed to “moderate the acceleration of EV production in North America to protect our pricing, adjust to slower near-term growth in demand, and implement engineering efficiency and other improvements that will make our vehicles less expensive to produce, and more profitable.”
The Equinox EV’s FWD variants get a 213-horsepower electric motor, whereas the AWD versions feature a dual-motor set-up producing 288 hp. The former can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.9 seconds while the AWD can do the same in 5.9 seconds. Production of the Equinox EV is underway at GM’s Ramos Arizpe assembly plant in Mexico, and deliveries are expected to begin by mid-2024.
GM’s price confirmation for the Equinox EV comes amidst some promising action in the lower end of the EV market. Tesla’s next EV is touted to be an affordable mass-market car, internally codenamed “Redwood,” and is expected to launch in 2025. Ford also dropped a surprise last week, revealing that a “super talented skunkworks team,” separate from the “Ford mothership” had been secretively working on a low-cost EV platform for the past two years.
