[pcons]

So I've been searching around my province (Ontario, Canada) for a bolt for my wife. She's going to be trading in her Golf TDI when the Canadian settlement gets finalized in court next month (hopefully).

Thing is I have only found a couple of dealers in Ontario that have allocation/ability to order a 2017 Bolt. One dealer told me today that is because they will be transitioning to the 2018 soon, and that he expects deliveries of those to be towards the end of Q3/17.

This would kind of follow what happened with the Gen 2 volts and the 2016's being available for less than 1 year before you could get a 2017 (I picked up my 2017 in June/2016).

Has anyone heard anything about this either south of the border or (more importantly) north of the border?

It seems the allocation to Canada is significantly less than the US. No dealers I've spoken to even have Bolts on the lot, they were each allocated between 5-7 factory build-to-order units, and after contacting ~ 10 of them they have sold all their allocation already and have no word from GM on being able to get more 2017s.

 

[DonC]

GM gets way more ZEV credits from the sale of a 2017 MY Bolt EV than a 2018 MY, so it's difficult to believe it would be in a big hurry to move on to 2018 MY copies. Seems like GM wants to send as many 2017 MY Bolts to CARB states before rolling out the 2018 MY in all fifty states.

 

[pcons]

GM gets way more ZEV credits from the sale of a 2017 MY Bolt EV than a 2018 MY, so it's difficult to believe it would be in a big hurry to move on to 2018 MY copies. Seems like GM wants to send as many 2017 MY Bolts to CARB states before rolling out the 2018 MY in all fifty states.

Hmmm, thanks for the reply. I didn't realize it would matter in terms of ZEV credits....why would that matter which model year they are selling?

I got an email from another dealer just now and he mentioned that when the 2016/2017 volt transition happened, the dealers got word of it months in advance and if a 2018 bolt would be available by now for delivery they would have heard about it by now....

So then that leaves me asking: What is GM's plan for canada for the rest of the year? I mean if there are no more allocations for canada and you cant even order a 2017 how does that make sense for their 'mass market' EV car?

I'm mostly just nervous now because I have my wife on board to get a bolt when she trades the TDI, but if she has to wait until November for a new car she'll likely not wait that long for the Bolt....hopefully GM isn't going to do something this dumb. There must be a tonne of canadians in a similar state to us, ready to trade in their TDI and move to something similar in form factor (Bolt is very close to her Golf) and with even better/more fun driving specs like acceleration, etc....

 

[rmay635703]

And now the reason for the 2 year long 2017 volt model becomes clear.

 

[Bacardi]

Hmmm, thanks for the reply. I didn't realize it would matter in terms of ZEV credits....why would that matter which model year they are selling?

I got an email from another dealer just now and he mentioned that when the 2016/2017 volt transition happened, the dealers got word of it months in advance and if a 2018 bolt would be available by now for delivery they would have heard about it by now....

So then that leaves me asking: What is GM's plan for canada for the rest of the year? I mean if there are no more allocations for canada and you cant even order a 2017 how does that make sense for their 'mass market' EV car?

I'm mostly just nervous now because I have my wife on board to get a bolt when she trades the TDI, but if she has to wait until November for a new car she'll likely not wait that long for the Bolt....hopefully GM isn't going to do something this dumb. There must be a tonne of canadians in a similar state to us, ready to trade in their TDI and move to something similar in form factor (Bolt is very close to her Golf) and with even better/more fun driving specs like acceleration, etc....

ZEV credit rules change across the board in 2018 although I'm not sure if that's the 2018 model year or the 2018 calendar year...But if it's the calendar year, don't be shocked to not see a 2018 model year until January 2018...

The other things with the 16/17 Volt rollout, it wasn't the plan, the original plan was to launch the 2016 to all 50 states...So the dealer being notified months in advance most likely had to do with the fact the original plans changed...

 

[DonC]

Hmmm, thanks for the reply. I didn't realize it would matter in terms of ZEV credits....why would that matter which model year they are selling?

I'm not a ZEV expert, but my understanding is that the number of ZEV credits you get for decreases in the 2018 MY -- by something like $7K worth. Plus the credits you do get don't travel, meaning that you have to earn the credits in each state or region rather than earning them in any state and being able to use them in any other.

I don't know about Canada per se but I'm assuming there will be plenty of Bolt EVs available before November. GM only plans to release the 2017 MY Bolts in CARB states, and I can't see production not keeping up with demand. Right now GM doesn't seem to be having any problems supplying CA with all the Bolts it needs, and CA is half the total demand and more than half the CARB demand.

ZEV credit rules change across the board in 2018 although I'm not sure if that's the 2018 model year or the 2018 calendar year...But if it's the calendar year, don't be shocked to not see a 2018 model year until January 2018...

I'm thinking GM has said the plan is to do the MY change at the normal time, but I can't remember where I've read that.

 

[Breezy]

The $14,000 incentive may not last past the June 2018 election. I hope GM realizes this and they're taking steps to maximize Ontario deliveries.

 

[Neromanceres]

Traditional model year cycle starts in the June/July time frame with orders starting in May. I expect the Bolt EV 2018 model year change over to happen around that time. As for allocations dealers are given an initial allocation and they are uncertain about future allocations. Future allocations are dependant on supply and demand. If GM Canada is not getting new allocation then it means demand is high.

And now the reason for the 2 year long 2017 volt model becomes clear.

2017 Model Year production run for the Volt will likely be from February 2016 to ~ beginning of July 2017 which is 17 months.

The $14,000 incentive may not last past the June 2018 election. I hope GM realizes this and they're taking steps to maximize Ontario deliveries.

To eliminate the 14K incentive would require a budget. The 2016 Budget was tabled on June 1rst. So any new government would not likely table a new full budget until first half of 2019. Though a fiscal update bill could happen within a few months of a new government. i would count on the incentive being there through 2018. I doubt this would be high priority on a new governments agenda to squash.

 

[khalfyard]

Many Greater Toronto Area Chevy dealers are actively promoting BOLTS. I've gotten a few calls and emails about promotions (From Applewood (Mississauga), Wilson-Niblett (Richmond Hill) and CityGroup (Toronto). All had vehicles for test drives and were taking and receiving orders. I have a friend who should be receiving his next week.