ORION TOWNSHIP: It can go more than 200 miles on battery power and it costs less than the average new vehicle in the US But in an era of $2 per gallon gasoline, the Chevrolet Bolt probably won’t do a whole lot to shift America from gasoline to electricity.

General Motors has started making Bolt hatchbacks on a slow assembly line at a factory in Orion Township, Michigan, north of Detroit.

The cars, starting at $37,495 before a $7,500 federal tax credit, will go on sale in California and Oregon before the end of the year, and will spread to the rest of the country next year. The average sales price of a new vehicle in the US is about $34,000, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Analysts say the Bolt’s 238-mile range on a single charge, plus a net price of around $30,000, should make it an attractive alternative to cars with internal-combustion engines. The Bolt’s range more than covers the average daily round-trip commute of about 40 miles in the US, and that should give comfort to those who fear running out of power, said Stephanie Brinley, an auto industry analyst for IHS Markit

IHS predicts that GM will sell just under 30,000 Bolts in the first year, which won’t add much to the roughly 235,000 electrics now on US roads.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2016