Affordable EVs that top two hundred miles of range on a charge are not just coming soon, they’ve arrived. At least one has.
GM will make its new Chevy Bolt, with its 238 mile range, available in all 50 states. So, if you’re interested in owning a Bolt, check with your local dealer and fact check Chevy’s assertion of availability. We welcome your comments to this video.
Though California has many EVs for its residents to choose from in 2017, due to its regulation requiring all automakers who sell vehicles in the state to provide a small percentage of zero emission or alternative fueled vehicles, the news from the greener Detroit auto show (the North American International Auto Show, NAIAS) is that the rest of the country and the world will be getting EVs with over 200 miles of range two years from now.
Mercedes Benz will begin making their all-electric EQ SUV in their Bremen, Germany factory beginning in 2019.
Volkswagen will also begin building their electric ID van that same year. Concept versions of both vehicles were at the NAIAS this year, heralding their future availability.
And Volvo is also on the record committing to bringing out their electric vehicle line-up in 2019.
Add these to EVs from other makers, such as the EV segment leading Nissan Leaf, the Smart EV, and BMW i3 and others, and you see why Bill Ford predicts a zero emission future for vehicles, and why Elon Musk says all cars will be electric.
Beyond electric vehicles, the 2017 NAIAS showcased self driving cars and the technology that makes them work. In February, Nissan will conduct its first real-world tests of self driving Leafs. And Volvo has such confidence in its autonomous vehicle tech that at the Detroit show it presented a self-driving V90 to a Swedish family.
Downstairs from the main hall filled with major automakers, an entire hall was filled with parts manufacturers and software coders angling for their share of the autonomous vehicle market.
No wonder the visionaries at the show have started to envision a future with autonomous electric vehicles that is emission free and moving toward zero traffic-related fatalities.
Helped into existence by current autonomous vehicle testing by Google, Uber and Apple, the age of the self-driving car has dawned on the roadways of the U.S. and Europe. We all await the full light of this new day for mobility, when even a blind person will be able to get around alone by vehicle in perfect safety.
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