The new Chevrolet Equinox EV is a solid entry into the compact crossover market, and with a (just) sub-$35,000 starting price, it also counts as affordable by the standards of 2026. But if you think that’s too rich for your blood, or that the Equinox is still too large for your needs, take heart—the Chevrolet Bolt is back in dealerships now as well.
The Bolt was GM’s first modern electric vehicle, following on from the hand-built, pre-lithium ion EV1 and the compliance car that was the Spark EV. We’re big fans of the Bolt here at Ars Technica. It offered well more than 200 miles of range in a mass-produced EV at a reasonable price well before Tesla’s Model 3 started clogging up our roads, it got more efficient over time, and it managed to be fun to drive in the process.
General Motors (which owns Chevrolet) probably feels less well-disposed toward the Bolt. It lost thousands of dollars on each car it sold, even before the entire fleet had to be recalled for a costly battery replacement. The issue was due to improperly folded tabs on some cells that could cause a battery fire, giving GM (and its battery partner LG) plenty of bad press in the process. That recall alone cost $1.8 billion.
The Bolt also predated GM’s big investment into the battery platform it used to but no longer calls “Ultium.” As the automaker began to ready a larger portfolio of new EVs (including the aforementioned Equinox EV), it decided the Bolt would have to go to make room for production of other, more profitable vehicles. The announcement was made in April 2023 and helped make the Bolt GM’s best-selling EV by a large margin.
The outcry from Bolt fans was loud and vociferous, and in July 2025 GM CEO Mary Barra announced that it would be coming back, with a new Ultium-based battery pack. But only in the Bolt EUV body style—if you prefer the original hatchback, you’re out of luck.