GM Is Building 75% Fewer New Chevy Bolt EVs Than It Initially Planned

We knew Chevy bringing back the affordable Bolt EV would be a limited-time affair, but it's apparently going to be a whole lot more limited than it was originally supposed to be. According to Reuters, citing a union official, General Motors will build 75% fewer Bolts than it set out to.

Chevy's entry-level electric hatchback is built in GM's Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, and the company is said to build 35,000 more before production ends (again) in Q1 2027. Those 35,000 are instead of the 150,000 vehicles that were initially planned. Those original Bolt production plans were made before the $7,500 federal EV tax credit was removed late last year. To put those numbers in perspective, Chevy sold almost 58,000 Equinox EVs throughout 2025.

Per a plant memo seen by Reuters, there are almost 1,000 Fairfax workers on indefinite layoff right now, and this reduction in planned Bolt output has delayed the return of a second work shift. On the brighter side, GM plans on moving production of the gas Chevy Equinox and Buick Envision to the Kansas facility soon. Those crossovers are currently built in Mexico and China, respectively.

When Jalopnik asked Chevy for more details about the Bolt's updated production run last week, a spokesperson responded, "As we previously announced when we first introduced the 27 Bolt, we saw an opportunity to bring it back, even if for a limited run... We haven't provided a specific end timeline and don't have more details to share at this time on that. In the meantime, I can say it continues to be America's most affordable EV." The company also told Reuters on the matter, "We continuously evaluate market dynamics and customer demand."

The 2027 Chevrolet Bolt starts at $28,995 including destination, which indeed makes it the least expensive new EV you can currently buy in the U.S. When the Bolt leaves us again in a matter of months, though, the cheapest electric vehicle from Chevy will be the Equinox EV, which can be had for $36,795. Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, and Hyundai will all be poised to undercut the Equinox EV with cheaper EV options once the Bolt's limited run comes to an end.