Here’s the best deal you can get on a new EV
EV tax credits have been revised effective starting January 1, 2023. We took that opportunity to seek out the cheapest electric car on the market. As it stands, the 2023 Chevrolet Bolt starts at $25,600 MSRP. While that doesn’t sound incredibly cheap, it is possible to get tax credits to considerably drop that price. In our case, a $7,500 federal credit and an additional $2,000 in state credit dropped the price to a mere $18,000.
Of course, those credits do have limitations like income caps. You can visit IRS.gov to learn more.
What you get for $18,000
Until April of 2022 the Bolt EV was under a stop sale due to a battery recall. Aside from fixing the battery, Chevy kept the 2023 model year mostly the same as before. The biggest update is a $5,900 price decrease from 2022. Although our Bolt is a fixed ’22 model, we got $5,900 cash on the hood as part of the deal.
In the past, cheap EV’s rarely had good range. The Bolt EV stretches as much as 259 miles out of its 65kWh battery. With 200 horsepower and 266 lb-ft of torque, it can get out of its own way too. The base 1LT interior is admittedly spartan, with cloth seats and a plastic steering wheel greeting you right off the bat. Materials aside, even our 1LT has a 10.2″ infotainment screen and an 8″ instrument screen.
The only option fitted to our Bolt is a “Driver Confidence Package” that adds tech features such as rear cross traffic alert and blind spot warning.
What’s next for the cheapest electric car
Even so the Bolt EV is a striking bargain considering its range, tech and overall utility. We’ll be producing tons more videos with it over the next few months to see just how it performs against the rest of the EV market. For a closer look at how much EV less than $20k can buy, check out Tommy’s video introducing the car.
