Is $30,000 Equinox EV price a "False Hope" or just a "Lure"?

smallb1980 said:

Im jealous you have two , I have zero

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Thanks for the jealousy I guess, I’m lucky enough to have been in the right place for the second one. The Bolt has become almost a lottery type of vehicle to actually be able to just buy one. Some locations have some available if you are willing to pay a dealer markup. But to actually pay MSRP is very difficult in markets like California. I agreed to buy the 2023 the same day that the dealer was notified of “order acceptance.” No date for assembly, only that it would be built and shipped to that dealership. I paid actual MSRP and no aftermarket crap I wasn’t interested in.

The ChevyBolt.org forum has numerous threads about the difficulty to actually purchase one of these unicorns.

Come to think about it, it won’t surprise me in the least if the Equinox EV follows the exact same path. Placing an order might not have a timeline that the average person looking to replace a vehicle will be able to wait out. The factory will not accept an order until 1) they are ready, and 2) the dealer has allotments for one. There are people who ordered a Bolt last summer that are still waiting for delivery.

CTAPRN said:

I still disagree that that is what will happen. It's a different steering wheel and you pay extra money to use the service. Chevy already dropped Apple Car Play and Android Auto. They're not going to miss out on tons of money in Super Cruise subscriptions. Also, they've been changing what's written on the website for several months now. Everything (including this comment) is pure speculation. So, I don't think anyone can say with any real conviction "incorrect" or "sorry" (including myself here).

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I think we will have to agree to disagree on what is GM philosophy. Since jumping on the GM bandwagon for the first time 10 years ago by purchasing a Volt, I have consistently seen GM do certain things.

1) They price base models for a minimum or zero profit in order to get the attention of the public who isn’t a loyal customer. The steps up the trim levels is where they start to make the profit margins they are looking for.

2) In order to realize the profit margins on the upper level trims, the amount of the charge for each step becomes less of the good deal as compared to the base MSRP.

3) GM actively advertises the vehicles that generate the highest profits (ie the Silverado and GMC Denalis etc) while not advertising the products that don’t generate profit (ie the Volt and Bolt), and the models in between that are semi profitable are advertised accordingly by profit margin Buick and Chevy small and medium SUVs etc).

4) When they over-build any particular vehicle, only then will it become offered with incentives. The amount of the incentive is directly proportional to the overstock.

I have become a huge fan of GM. So much so that I have purchased a fair amount of GM stock. I am banking on GM winning this race to dethrone Tesla as the next manufacturer to sell the most BEVs. The way they will do so is by pricing their EVs as the lowest price and making EVs even cheaper than comparable ICE cars. Let’s face the reality that Tesla is a premium brand that sells cars for more than the average person can afford, like BMW and Mercedes. That is a limited market that doesn’t reflect what the average consumer wants or buys.

On a side note, all bandstanding fandom aside, I am very disappointed with the recent announcement from GM to discontinue CarPlay/Android Auto, and discontinuing the Bolt. I get it why. I just don’t understand why any business would stop selling their most popular product in the EV market. The only EVs that have outsold the Bolt are the Tesla Model Y and 3. It just seems premature when they could convert the Bolt to Ultium batteries and wiring and continue to sell every Bolt they make before it’s actually made. And it’s the “VW bug of EVs.” The Bolt is exactly what GM or anyone else can sell the most EVs: a cheap and efficient car that is competitive with ICE cars.

But is that the most profitable car? Not even close. The only way the econo cars become profitable is by selling the upper trims for a lot more, and by the economies of scale (which the Bolt has already reached). The base Bolt EV and EUV are sold at a loss to GM if they don’t offset a ZEV credit in a ZEV state which then allows GM to sell a Silverado or Suburban that enjoys a very high profit margin.


This situation should help answer why they don’t put SC on lower trims until the public gets a bunch of used vehicles equipped with SC to purchase for less than what is available new. THEN they will put SC on the lower trims so that they can sell a new car instead of losing that buyer to the used market. GM sells used cars through the dealers, but they don’t get one cent from the sale of used cars.

Is it better to make a profit on every single car sold, or is it better to lose a few grand on a Bolt so that GM can sell a cash cow truck that gets them 5-digit profit? It’s all business strategy, but it’s the bottom line that makes it policy.

So that as well as other considerations is why I am pessimistic about the question of whether or not SC will be an option for the mid level Equinox EV trim. The likelihood is very slim. We won’t know until the fat lady sings via the configurator that will magically appear right before the opening bell for selling the Equinox EV. The Eq EV is taking over as the loss leader for the Bolt in the greater GM scheme of EV things.

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