(Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press) Standard LED low beams make for superb night visibility. Through January and February 2017 the Bolt found 92 Canadian customers compared to 178 for the Leaf, whereas the Volt walked away with 522 sales, making it quite clear that current plug-in customers prefer all the extra range and versatility a partial-gasoline powered model can provide.Ĭhevy sold 3,469 Volts in Canada throughout 2016, making it by far the most popular plug-in here, with Tesla’s Model S finding 1,466 premium buyers, the Leaf third with 1,375, and Tesla’s Model X SUV fourth with 1,032 sales, although it only went on sale in June of last year. While there appears to be pent-up demand, the ability to deliver as many cars as customers may want is challenging in the first few months so we’ll need to allow some time to judge its sales success. The time of writing the Bolt has only been on sale for two months in Canada and three in the U.S., so it’s difficult to see how it will measure up against its main rival from Japan.
Take off the chromed grille inserts and the Volt looks a lot like the Chevy Cruze that shares its underpinnings. It’s now easy to see that the EV1 was part of a longer-term vision, the result being the previous Spark EV that’s just made way for the new Bolt. I’m not going to even try to convince you which way to go, but the fact that General Motors now produces the world’s bestselling plug-in electric vehicle as well as a new pure electric car that could quickly supplant the Leaf as the dominant EV is impressive, especially considering all the unwarranted flack it went through back at the turn of the millennia when following through on its preset plan to decommission its experimental EV1 two-seater two-door coupe. Volt’s arrival, and other plug-in hybrids that have followed, improvements in battery storage have made the thought of living with a pure electric vehicle much more plausible, hence the success of the Nissan Leaf and new arrival of Chevy’s much lauded Bolt. Since theĪ unique rear design appears more sedan-like than hatchback.
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The Volt overcame such worries by combining both electric and gasoline internal combustion motive power, similar to a hybrid albeit with full EV capability for limited range, theoretically providing a way for owners to travel back and forth to work, as well as running weekend errands without using any fuel at all. That’s the single largest detractor from a cleaner, greener battery powered world, most naysayers originally believing electric vehicle sales would stall due to range anxiety. Of course, when I say “selling up a storm” I’m referring to a comparatively small number of plug-in vehicles in the shadow of the vast majority of conventionally powered conveyances, but big change takes time to allow consumer mindsets to adjust, and no one could’ve predicted the current price of crude. On the mobile electric grid has been selling up a storm. The Volt’s conservative frontal styling seems to be working for its global customer base it’s the number one plug-in after all.
While all the plug-in talk these days seems to be about Chevy’s new Bolt compact hatchback, the car that put General Motors