If you want a cheap electric vehicle, your time is waning quickly to get in on the $24,000 Chevy Bolt (which comes with a federal tax credit of $7,500). It's not often that manufacturers pull the plug on a product that's "clocking record highs," as Quartz terms it, but GM announced Tuesday that it was discontinuing the Bolt (and its larger sibling, the Bolt Electric Utility Vehicle) by the end of this year. The reason? Outdated batteries, which cost about 40% more than those coming in future models, like the GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq. The newcomers come with GM's Ultium batteries.
The move is a bit of a blow to the EV industry, notes the Verge, because the Bolt was pretty economical in comparison to the average EV price sticker of $58,940, clocking in at nearly $15,000 less than the average price of a nonluxury gas-powered car. "There's literally nothing quite like it on the road," notes the Verge. GM will replace the Bolts with "a bunch of giant electric trucks," per the Verge, but Quartz notes that the company's coming Equinox EV is set to have a comparable price point. And there's still time: GM is producing 70,000 Bolts this year before it closes the model out. (More Chevrolet Bolt stories.)