Chevy Equinox EV Pricing & Where GM Failed to Deliver
Steve Birkett is an electric vehicle advocate based in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. He is a content creator and marketing professional who contributes written and recorded pieces to a wide range of media outlets. His analysis has been featured in Find The Best Car Price, WWLP TV, and Torque News, among others. He has also had video content featured on Inside EVs. Birkett was an EV Guide for Plug in America events in Massachusetts (Drive Electric Cambridge and Drive Electric Lowell) and Ohio (Earth Day 2019 at Cleveland Zoo). He participates in quarterly advisory panel meetings for EVolve New York (a state-level charging initiative) and has contributed to focus groups for prominent U.S. charging networks.
Birkett is a father-of-two who loves nothing more than packing up the family and hitting the road in their latest electric car, which is currently a 2022 Hyundai IONIQ 5. With multiple Chevy Bolts in his past, as well as a Chevy Volt and Tesla Model 3 LR in the extended family, plus various EV rentals when he ventures back home to his native United Kingdom, Birkett has more than 100,000 all-electric miles under his belt and is always ready to try out a new electric vehicle.
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While the final Chevy Equinox EV pricing won't surprise anyone who has been watching the sector closely, General Motors will disappoint new EV buyers who were hoping for more affordable options. As the Chevy Bolt EV goes on hiatus in 2024 and the base trim Equinox EV is unlikely to arrive at volume until well into 2025, GM will be absent in the budget electric vehicle segment at a time when these models are most needed.
- Steve Birkett, Senior EV Editor
October 31st, 2023 – General Motors has confirmed official details and timelines for Chevy Equinox EV pricing and production. It's not positive news for anyone seeking an affordable EV.
GM will start taking orders for its entry-level Ultium EV next week, with deliveries of the model's top trims expected to start in 2024. These vehicles, however, start at $48,995 for the FWD version and reach up to $52,395 for the AWD version, putting both in a section of the market that is already saturated. Models like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai IONIQ 5, and Kia EV6 all offer similar or more compelling alternatives to the Equinox EV, while the segment-leading Tesla Model Y will be less expensive following recent EV price cuts.
When it was first revealed back in 2022, GM stoked excitement for the entry-level EV by suggesting a price tag of $30,000. Not unlike the $35,000 number that became a challenge for the Tesla Model 3 leading up to mass production in 2018, the Chevy Equinox EV name quickly became synonymous with a $30,000 electric vehicle.
Waiting until 2025 might have been accepted if the model could be delivered at that attractive price point, but GM can no longer make those numbers work. The base trim 1LT will arrive at $34,995 and be the last version of the Equinox EV to roll off the production line. That leaves a gaping hole in the affordable EV segment heading into 2024, with the brand's only real affordable all-electric model, the Bolt EV line, ending production in 2023.
The Bolt EV is expected to make a comeback on the Ultium platform and General Motors might find ways to gear Chevy Equinox EV pricing and production towards the entry-level options, but in the current climate of high interest rates and excitement for new all-electric models in their first year, this seems unlikely.
For the next 18 months at least, even the Equinox EV will remain out of reach for budget-conscious buyers and the dream of affordable EVs continues to be beaten out by the reality of economic headwinds and early stage production challenges.
