Mary Barra GM CEO - H 2014
AP Photo/Mark LennihanGeneral Motors CEO Mary Barra will unveil the Bolt, an electric car with a 200-mile range, during GM’s press preview Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, according to reports.
The Bolt, a five-door hatchback, is expected to be introduced in 2017 and priced at about $30,000.
Watch more The Tesla Street Race Videos Taking YouTube by Storm
The Bolt’s price and timing are a shot across the bow of Telsa Motors. Tesla previously announced plans to field the Model 3 sedan, its bid to market a mainstream electric vehicle after its success with the $70,000 Model S, at around the same time and at the same price as the Bolt. Tesla is building a $5 billion gigafactory in Nevada to manufacture batteries for the car.
The Bolt’s unveiling coincides with plunging gas prices and slowing sales of Chevrolet’s Volt plug-in hybrid.
GM, along with BMW, Mercedes and Audi, is heavily invested in building alternative-fuel cars — both to satisfy ever-tightening government emissions regulations and in response to the burgeoning popularity of Tesla’s Model S sedan, which will be joined in 2016 by its Model X crossover SUV. An estimated 20,000 customers have placed $5,000 deposits on the Model X.
Watch for The Hollywood Reporter‘s live coverage from the floor of the Detroit auto show beginning Monday, Jan 12.
