Chevrolet Debuts Newest Electric Car In Tesla's Backyard
FREMONT (KPIX 5) -- Tesla has some new competition in town after Chevrolet's newest electric car offering descended on the Bay Area Tuesday.
To deliver the world's very first Chevy bolt, the company picked Fremont - literally in Tesla's backyard.
"The factor in launching the vehicle here was, obviously the Bay Area is very important to electric vehicle space. And then, Fremont Chevrolet is the number one Volt dealer in the country," Kathy Beslic with Chevrolet said.
The Chevy Bolt is the first mass produced, long range, all-electric car to hit the streets, beating the Tesla Model 3, which comes out next year.
At $30,000, the bolt has got the affordable long range EV market all to itself for now.
Chevy says they took all the customer feedback from the second generation Volt, and put those changes into the Bolt.
The listed range is 238 miles.
With quick DC charging, drivers can get 90 miles of range in 30 minutes.
The trunk is deeper, but narrower, but the seats fold down.
Because the steering is electronically controlled, there is no steering column, which means more legroom.
The Bolt addressed complaints about rear visibility with a rear camera mirror display, which is essentially a mini TV screen.
Customer John Henry is one of the first in the country to get a Bolt, and said it was time to get rid of his Prius.
"The range, the configuration of the car, it's a great price point, and the car is perfect for me," Henry said.