Car sales data in Canada is starting to come out, since the year 2023 has now ended for a few days. With great fanfare, GM Canada was quick to say that it was ahead of all other manufacturers for 2023 in Canada, but it was rather the performance of the Chevrolet Bolt that caught our attention. While the duo composed of the Bolt EV and the Bolt EUV saw its production cease on December 20, it recorded its best performance in Canada in terms of sales since its introduction in 2017.
The year 2022 had already marked a new record for the vehicle in Canada, but this was shattered by the performance of the vehicle in 2023. 14,075 copies of the Chevrolet Bolt EV or the Chevrolet Bolt EUV found buyers in Canada in 2023. This is an increase of 120.9% compared to the sales figures for the year 2022, in which 6372 examples of Chevrolet Bolt were sold.
This performance instantly vaults the Chevrolet Bolt into second place in sales for the brand, trailing only the Silverado full-size pickup truck. The third vehicle to make the podium was the Chevrolet Equinox, which sold 13,248 units.
A regretted departure
An equally remarkable performance was recorded in the United States, where the small city car saw sales increase by 62.75%, reaching 62,044 examples by the end of 2023. This is a significant increase from 38,112 examples. sold in 2022, which was at the time a record for this car on American soil. It occupies tenth place in terms of the best-selling vehicles at Chevrolet, which highlights the divergence of this market from the Canadian market.
This performance comes shortly after the end of production of the Chevrolet Bolt in its two forms, which occurred on December 20 at the GM Lake Orion plant located in Michigan. It seems that the battery problems resolved and the very attractive prices had finally allowed the Bolt to achieve success on the North American continent.
Conclusion
These sales figures show that the formula finally seemed to appeal to consumers, which gives even more weight to Mary Barra’s announcement to bring back the Chevrolet Bolt under a new generation. It is imperative that Chevrolet continues to rely on the same attributes as the outgoing model. These include the attractive price, decent battery life and compact size, all elements that should be found in the new model which is expected to arrive for the 2025 model year.
According to the first rumors, the new Chevrolet Bolt should be based on the outgoing model, but will offer an LFP type battery, generally considered cheaper to manufacture and making it possible to offer an attractive price for consumers while guaranteeing a certain profitability for the constructor. It is also on profitability that GM has focused its interventions in recent months, in particular by delaying the arrival of certain electric models.
