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Chevrolet is killing the Bolt electric car. While it never set our hearts on fire, the Bolt has blazed a trail an inexpensive, practical, little hatchback with good range. With a base price of just $26,500, it’s also the cheapest electric car you can buy.

But, the cheapest electric car comes with the worst reliability score, and that likely contributed to the car’s demise.

The Chevy Bolt reliability scores are the worst of any electric car

According to Kelley Blue Book, the Bolt earned a reliability score of just 17 out of 100 ono Consumer Reports latest list of the 10 least reliable cars. It beat the Nissan Sentra and Hyundai Kona Electric cars, however. That reliability score was dinged, heavily, by a huge recall in December of 2022. GM Recalled 140,000 Bolts and larger Bolt EUVs over a risk of catching fire. This was after a massive recall of the same cars in 2020 for battery fires.

The 2021 recall was so bad, Chevy was forced to halt production of Bolts for several months. The 2023 Chevy Bolt, however, earned a score of 8.0 of 10 at Edmunds where it earned praise for its spacious interior and value.

Why is the Bolt discontinued?

GM (General Motors) smallest EV, the Chevy Bolt EV, poses by a garage.
2023 Chevy Bolt EV | General Motors

This week General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in an earning call that the company will end production of the Bolt by the end of the year. GM is ramping up production on two trucks, the GMC Sierra EV and the Chevy Silverado EV, and it simply needs the production capacity to make those to electric trucks. Barra said the plant that makes the trucks in Orion, Michigan, will soon be able to produce 600,000 trucks annually. The decision to axe the Bolt could also be because of those recalls and warnings not to drive the Bolt: it earned a reputation as a kind of lemon.

Regardless, it did sell well and saw a boost in sales after a price drop.

The 2023 Chevy Bolt comes in two flavors: Bolt and Bolt EUV

A gray 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV subcompact electric SUV is parked.
The 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV | Chevrolet

The Bolt debuted in 2016 and quickly became popular because of its 200-horsepower motor and 259-mile range. It also has fast-charge capability and plenty of interior space. Speaking of the interior, while the car is the cheapest EV you can buy, it doesn’t feel like inside and it has an interior befitting a car of its price range. The 2023 Bolt EUV is a slightly larger version of the same car that has more SUV-like proportions than the Bolt, which is styled like a commuter hatchback.

What is new for 2023 in the Bolt?

Cabin in 2023 Chevy Bolt EV, U.S. News best electric car for the money in 2023, will be discontinued
2023 Chevy Bolt EV | Chevrolet

The 2023 Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV saw a $5,900 price drop compared to the 2022 Bolt EUV and Bolt. General Motors exhausted its $7,500 federal tax credits for the cars so it dropped the price to stay competitive. For 2023, the car did get a slight interior redesign that focused on comfort with new seats. Also, GM ditched the funky shifter in favor of some switches on the console. The basic car, though, remains the same for 2023, and this is your last chance to grab one. It seems like, in grand GM tradition, just as the company gets the chevy bolt reliability and the rest of the car right, it kills it.

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Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.