The Chevrolet Bolt Is Absolutely Crushing It Right Now

Welcome back to The Morning Dump, where we carefully select a few smaller news stories for your coffee break consumption. In today’s edition, Chevrolet is crushing it in EV sales with the Bolt, Kia unveils an even more ambitious EV plan than it had previously, Gordon Murray might build another all-combustion supercar, and Maserati paints a GranTurismo all the colors. Let’s get cracking.

Oops, All Bolts!

With the dust having settled on the first-quarter sales race, the Associated Press reports that Chevrolet has stolen the number two spot for EV sales from Ford by a vast margin. It paints a picture of an exciting race to the top, although part of this is due to production limitations on Ford’s end.

Ford sold only 10,866 EVs during the quarter, but the company said that’s largely because it had to stop making the top-selling Mustang Mach-E electric SUV while it retooled a factory in Mexico to increase production. Spokesman Said Deep said the company didn’t build Mach-Es for seven weeks during the quarter, cutting into sales.

Also, Ford was forced to stop making the F-150 Lightning electric pickup in February after a battery caught fire during a pre-delivery quality check. The problem was fixed and production resumed March 13.

However, while Ford was bogged down in re-tooling time and production issues, GM had its own troubles to tackle. Due to reports of water getting into GMC Hummer EV battery packs, production slowed to a crawl. GM only sold two of these massive electric trucks in the last quarter. Cadilliac Lyriq sales aren’t particularly strong either at 968 units for the quarter, but GM’s still ramping up production on that product. You can probably guess where this story is going.

During the first quarter, GM delivered 19,700 of its top-selling EV, the Chevrolet Bolt hatchback and utility vehicle. Last year the company sold only 358 Bolts because available batteries had to be diverted to a recall of 142,000 older Bolts due to battery fires.

That’s right, GM sold a ton of EVs because it makes Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs that normal people can actually afford. Even without factoring in incentives, a base-model Bolt EV starts at $27,495, or $1,050 less than a base Toyota Prius. Add in the $5,000 federal tax credit available in the first quarter, and some people were driving these Bolt EVs off the lot for $22,495 plus tax and title. That’s cheaper than a gas-powered Corolla hatchback. Fancy features and premium appointments are great and all, but price rules the roost at the end of the day.

Kia’s EV Blitz

From the updated Niro EV to the hi-po EV6 GT, Kia builds some compelling electric cars these days. Expect to see a whole lot more of them soon as Automotive News reports that Kia is planning an EV tear, with huge volume expectations for 2030. The marque wants to sell 1.6 million electric vehicles worldwide in 2030, which should make up 37.2 percent of its total worldwide sales volume. Expect to see a portfolio of 15 electric models by 2027, along with a whole raft of investments in assembly plants.

To supply the coming EV surge, Kia will open its first dedicated EV factory next year in Gwangmyeong, outside Seoul.

In the U.S., Kia will also produce key EV models locally, beginning 2024. Kia said it will also produce small and midsized EVs in Europe.

Production volumes are great, but products need to be profitable to secure a future. However, it seems like Kia’s CEO Ho Sung Song has a plan for that.

Last year, EVs contributed just 5 percent to overall profit. Song wants that to grow to 32 percent in 2026 and then to 53 percent by 2030. Better profitability will come partly by cutting the cost of batteries 55 percent by 2030, compared with 2018 prices, the company said.

Will cheaper batteries translate to cheaper EVs? Possibly not, as the electric vehicle push is part of Kia’s effort to move upmarket. One thing’s for certain though, we’ve come a long way from the Sephia.

Gordon Murray’s Next Sports Car Might Also Be All-Combustion

The GMA T.33 is absolutely gorgeous, a truly fitting last hurrah for analog supercars. Or is it? British magazine Autocar reports that thanks in part to low-volume exemptions from the EU’s 2035 fossil fuel engine ban, there’s a chance that Gordon Murray’s next car might also be powered entirely by a V12.

“When we launched T33 [the Spider, pictured below], we said that was absolutely and categorically going to be the last non-hybrid car that we would make,” said Murray. “But of course, with these rule changes, we might even squeeze out another with Project Three.”

However, Murray’s not in the clear yet. As the U.K. jumped out of the union a couple years ago, it’s going its own way on a combustion ban. Autocar reports that not only do all new cars sold in the U.K. need to be hybrids by 2030, it’s basically electric or bust for 2035. Still, all hope is not lost. Murray expects the new car to be ready by 2027, three short years before key legislation takes effect.

The Amazing Technicolor Maserati

Italian design is usually something special, and Maserati’s contributions to Milan Design Week are no exceptions. We’re talking about a couple of special GranTurismos, of course. There’s a silver one with electric power and sustainable materials, and that seems alright. However, the Italian marque may have overshadowed its green one-off because the second one-off GranTurismo is a V6 car painted 14 different colors. Called the GranTurismo One Off Prisma,

One of the colors is a rich burgundy from the 1947 Maserati A6 1.500 called Amaranto, Italian for Amaranth. Sounds a lot sexier once translated than Quattroporte, yeah? Another hue is Oro Longchamps from the 1973 Khamsin, a bold dark gold that’s oh so ’70s. According to Maserati, two of the 14 colors “look ahead to the future,” which sounds like a pair of upcoming color options if you read between the lines. Mind you, there’s more paint than just 14 different colors on this car. I’ll let Maserati explain:

The outfit of this extraordinary One Off is embellished with details of more than 8,500 letters hand-applied, making up the names of Maserati cars, creating a second level of shade and harmonising the entire colour coating, all painted by hand.

That has the potential to be massively tacky, but maximalism seems like the entire point of this car. There’s no point in building a one-off car in a boring spec, creations like this should thrill and satisfy a singular vision. If anyone else likes it, that’s just a bonus.

The Big Question

Although Maserati can’t seem to decide on a favorite color, I’d love to know what you consider your favorite car color of all-time to be. Whether Mazda’s classy Soul Red Crystal or Lotus’ irradiated Kermit Isotope Green, there should be a color for everyone.

(Photo credits: Chevrolet, Kia, Gordon Murray Automotive, Maserati)

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