GM Preps Orion Assembly Plant Ahead Of Bolt EV Production Debut

General Motors Co. is beginning to ready it's Orion Assembly Plant in Michigan for the retail production debut of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The latest sustainable offering from Chevy, the Bolt is a pure battery-electric vehicle with an EPA-certified 238-mile range and is currently on schedule to hit dealership showrooms later this year.

The Bolt will be going head-to-head against the Tesla Model 3. But while it might not have received the same level of hype, the Bolt will have an advantage over the much-anticipated Model 3 because it will be going on sale one year sooner. The Bolt will also start at around $37,500, minus a $7,500 tax rebate. Tesla has said the Model 3 is expected to start around $35,000.

Orion Assembly has been building hundreds of pre-production Bolts since the spring for test fleets that allow engineers to make tweaks before full-production begins. Some have also been built for GM marketing, as well as autonomous vehicle testing in California and other western states.

Work on the all-electric Chevrolet began more than two years ago and prepping the plant took some time, as Orion had never built an electric car before. The biggest hurdle was determining at what point along the assembly line to install the 960-pound lithium ion battery supplied by South Korea's LG Chem.

The plant is also are working with new coolant systems for the battery, as well as aluminum for the Bolt’s fenders, hood, liftgate and four doors. This is the first time Orion has dealt with aluminum, so more than 50 robots were added to complete body work.

In addition to the Bolt, Orion Assembly will also be producing the Opel Ampera-e. This European sister to the Bolt will debut at the Paris Motor Show later this month and will go on sale sometime next year. However, while the plant will be building both of these vehicles, they will lose production of the Buick Verano sedan, as GM has opted to discontinue it in the U.S.

Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, said the Bolt’s price and electric range are competitive and it will be ahead of others in the market. It will compete with vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, and Ford Focus Electric. These three vehicles are already on sale.

LMC forecasts GM will produce 22,000 Bolts next year at Orion, as well as volumes of less than 1,000 a year for the Ampera-e. IHS Markit also forecasts Bolt production at around 22,000 in 2018. It expects Ampera-e production to be a few thousand.