The Chevy Bolt's Run May Be Shorter than ExpectedMarc Urbano - Car and DriverThe revived Chevy Bolt was originally expected to have a limited run of 150,000 units.Reporting from Reuters, based on UAW documents, says that the production number has been severely cut to a target of just 35,000 vehicles.It's a shame that the Bolt, our 2026 EV of the Year, may have its life cut short once again.Chevy giveth and Chevy may quickly taketh away. The Bolt EV, which was reintroduced for the 2027 model year as an improved version of the previous Bolt EUV, was always known to be a limited-time-only affair. Based on factory capacity, the Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kansas, where the Bolt is assembled, could have churned out up to 150,000 units of the revived Bolt. Reuters is now reporting that the target number is much lower.Marc Urbano - Car and DriverCut Down In Its PrimeThe reporting is based on documents from the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union, which show that now just 35,000 of the new Bolts are expected to be made. It's possible this was the plan all along, but it would be hard to justify reengineering a model and reintroducing it to the market with great fanfare to only build such a small number. The low target is likely a sign of tapering demand in the affordable EV space, a segment that's much more competitive than when the Bolt and Bolt EUV last played in it.A Chevy representative provided us with the same statement it gave to Reuters: "We continuously evaluate market dynamics and customer demand to make decisions regarding our operations." The automaker wouldn't verify the target number, citing policy not to share anticipated production volumes. If this is in fact a deviation from the original plan, it's possible that the government's recently finalized fuel-economy targets, which reduce the incentive to build EVs, may have had something to do with the truncation of the Bolt's limited run.Marc Urbano - Car and DriverBuyers Dictate How Long Models Stick AroundChanges in production targets for limited-run vehicles are not out of the ordinary. We've seen it go both ways; when Ford ended production of the neo-retro Thunderbird in 2005, the company, which had shared a goal of 25,000 units, said of the final 19,085-unit total, "We promised all along that this Thunderbird would have a limited production run."When Stellantis kept making the one-year-only Dodge Durango Hellcat and kept the Jeep Wrangler 392 "Final Edition" around for multiple model years, it ruffled the feathers of some owners who thought they had bought something more rare and collectible but allowed more buyers to take home its (pricey) V-8 models. The ultimate reason is usually simple: demand.What's different here is that the Bolt is supposed to be a volume model, and GM made a big deal about resurrecting it, with improved battery and charging tech, for what was expected to be one long model year. We liked it enough to name it the 2026 Car and Driver EV of the Year. Now it seems few of these impressive little electric vehicles will end up finding homes, and the "of the Year" part of that award is perhaps more fitting than we thought.➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029
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