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DETROIT, Michigan - An electric car with a 320km range, with a pricetag the equivalent of R438 000, will be built at General Motor's factory in Detroit, Michigan.
The small, as yet unnamed, hatchback will be based on the Chevrolet Bolt concept shown at the 2015 Detroit auto show in January.
GM has said it would be built in 2017 and the price will drop with the payment back to the buyer the equivalent of a R87 000 federal tax credit.
'SUV-LIKE CARGO SPACE'
Chevrolet says its car was designed to compete with Tesla Motors, which will bring to showrooms its own 320km-per-charge car at the same time. The price of Tesla's Model 3, including the tax credit, is likely to be well below Chevrolet's mystery car.
The Bolt looks like a cross between a Volkswagen Golf and BMW's electric i3. GM designers said it would have "SUV-like cargo space and a high seating position", two attributes that have made small SUVs popular in the US.
GM North America President Alan Batey said on Thursday (Feb 13 2015): "We are moving quickly because of its potential to completely shake up the status quo for electric vehicles."
GM said it had not determined how many jobs the new car will bring to the factory, which now has about 1700 hourly workers who make the Chevrolet Sonic sub-compact and the Buick Verano compact.
