GM to open order banks for the Equinox EV. Here's the price and the range.
General Motors is announcing the price and range of the long-awaited 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV, which it will start taking orders for in the first week of November and deliver to customers next year.
The 2024 model year Equinox EVs will be heavily loaded with content and start at $48,995 for a front-wheel drive version and $52,395 for an all-wheel drive variant, Scott Bell, vice president of Global Chevrolet, told the news media Monday. The FWD variant was recently EPA-certified at 319 miles of range, well above the 250-mile range Chevrolet had first targeted achieving, he said. The AWD version will have a GM-estimated 280 miles of range; it has not yet been EPA-certified.
“Early adopters are used to having vehicles that are little more contented," said Steve Majoros, chief marketing officer of Chevrolet. "We’re in the average transaction price range where the segment is transacting,” Steve said.
Some of the features include the following:
17.7-inch-diagonal color touch screen
Multicolor ambient lighting
Chevy Safety Assist, HD Surround Vision Camera, Safety Alert Seat, Reverse Auto Braking
GM's hands-free Super Cruise and Adaptive Cruise Control
Google Built-In
Wireless charging
Autosense Power Liftgate
21-inch black wheels
Black Evotex interior with red accents
Heated front seats and heated, flat-bottom steering wheel
One-Pedal Driving and Regen on Demand
Dual-level Charge Cord
Towing Wiring Provisions
11.5kW AC Charging Capable
150kW DC Fast Charging Capable
Chevrolet said it has about 200,000 hand-raisers for the Equinox EV, those people interested in the vehicle but who have not yet put money down to order one.
Next year, Chevrolet will start offering more variants of the Equinox EV, which will be produced at GM's Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, plant, and launch the base model, which will start at $34,995, not including the $7,500 federal tax credit, Bell said. He did not confirm whether the base model will be a 2024 or 2025 model year variant. It will get an estimated 300 miles of range, Bell said.
Meanwhile, Bell said there are no plans to continue building the Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV at Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township past the end of this year now that GM is pushing back retooling that plant to produce the retail Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV pickups there by a full year. GM builds the Silverado EV work truck at Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtramck.
“We’ve been pretty clear that we don’t want to say goodbye to the Bolt, but we need to get it out of the way so we can prep that plant for the Silverado," Bell said.
GM will revive the Bolt on the Ultium propulsion system in the future, but it is not saying when or where that vehicle will be produced. But Bell and Majoros said there will be Bolt and Bolt EUVs in inventory until February from this year's production.
Part of the reason GM chose to delay retooling Orion to start building the EV pickups in 2025 rather than next year is due to demand for EVs not being as robust as initially forecast. As Chevrolet prepares to launch the Equinox EV and is now starting to deliver the Chevrolet Blazer EV, the brand is keeping an eye on demand for EVs, but feels the products offer the features consumers will want over competitors.
"We're paying attention to what's happening in the marketplace," Bell said. "There are three key components to consumer consideration: Range is a big one, styling and affordability. That's what we thrive on here at Chevrolet and we think we nailed all three of them. It's yet to be seen, but we like our package and what we've put together and capability. We're excited that we lived up to what we said we'd do and over-delivered on a couple of things including range."
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM's initial Equinox EV to start at $49,000, get over 300 miles range