General Motors wants to be the world’s biggest seller of electric vehicles, and the new 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV is planned to play a significant role in that effort.
Created on GM’s Ultium platform, the midsize SUV will reach 300 miles of range and begin at “roughly $30,000” — an affordable price point designed to drive broader EV adoption.
The new midsize SUV, which begins at around $30,000, is intended to be an ‘EV for everyone.’ When the Chevy Equinox EV anchors at dealerships in the fall of 2023, it will start for $13,000 cheaper than the Ford Mustang Mach-E, $35,000 shorter than the Tesla Model Y, and almost $1,000 than the Hyundai Ioniq 5. And it will join Chevy’s fast-evolving lineup of EVs, which includes the Silverado EV, Bolt EV and EUV, and Blazer EV.
It’s been almost nine months since GM CEO Mary Barra grabbed the stage at CES in Las Vegas and declared that the Chevy Equinox EV would start at $30,000. And a lot has occurred since then, including historic inflation and supply chain constraints, that have guided many automakers to boost prices for their entry-level EVs. But Chevy insists the $30,000 price label is better than just aspirational.
“We have every intention to create and sell the vehicle that will begin in that price range,” Scott Bell, vice president of worldwide sales at Chevy, said during a recent briefing with journalists. “So that is critical to the sensation of what we’re doing at Chevrolet — producing an EV for everyone.”
Most EVs on the call today are more expensive than their gas counterparts, though EV sales numbers are still beating up as more models become available. GM expects a more affordable EV with a nameplate recognizable as the Equinox could help spur a faster switch to electric power. However, other EV makers have promised affordable options to get tripped up by supply chain problems, battery costs, and other external aspects.
Of course, a lot can occur between now and when the Equinox EV goes on sale that could upend GM’s goals. Chevy is also recreating coy about the actual price for the Equinox, declining to disclose how much individually trim levels will cost and pledging those numbers later. GM has said it intends to expend $30 billion by 2025 on creating 30 new plug-in prototypes in its bid to overtake Elon Musk’s firm as the leading EV company in the world. Tesla still conquers the relatively small EV market in the US, with around 66 percent market share, while GM only has about 6 percent. Moreover, auto rivals like Ford and Hyundai outsold the company this year.
The Chevy Equinox EV will be constructed at GM’s Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, factory. That suggests it satisfies one of the unique conditions to be eligible for the $7,500 tax credit. Whether it will meet the other sourcing needs concerning its battery materials stays to be seen. Starting January 1st, 2023, some GM vehicles will be eligible for the tax credit for the first time since 2019, after the company marketed its 200,000th EV, triggering a phaseout of the incentive.
In a furious bid to catch up to Tesla and become more vertically integrated, GM is trying to gain a firmer grasp on its supply chain, which contains battery manufacturing. The company has stated it will spend over $4 billion on creating two battery factories in North America in collaboration with South Korea’s LG Chem.
GM also said it will explore localizing a cathode production facility with LG Chem by 2025. It also recently locked down 950,000 tons of cathode textile in a deal with the South Korean battery maker. GM has withstood the urge to raise prices on its lowest-priced EVs, the Chevy Bolt, and Bolt EUV, even while other EVs have grown in price. The company has decided to keep its discounted price for the Bolts until the end of the year.