The Chevrolet Bolt EV is a five-door all-electric hatch bubble released just a few years ago for the 2017 model year. Now, rumor has it GM has a new-gen in the works, but apparently, it won’t see the light of day for at least another seven years.

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Although it’s just two years old at this point, the Chevrolet Bolt (otherwise known as the Opel Ampera-E to our European readers) has established itself as a major player in the green alternative segment. Now, it’s looking as though GM is ramping up to introduce a second generation - in January of 2025, that is. If true, that would give the green hatch an extended nine-year lifecycle.

That’s the latest news from Autoforecast Solutions, as shared by multiple outlets.

Rumor has it the next-gen Bolt will receive a bigger battery for motivation, upgrading over the current model’s 60-kWh lithium-ion unit. The larger pack will also offer more miles than before. For reference, the current Bolt’s range is 238 miles per charge, as estimated by the EPA.

Coinciding with the extra-large battery, the Bolt is also likely to receive a meatier electric motor, besting the current model’s 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque. The new powertrain should make the model faster overall, enabling a more sprightly run to 60 mph compared to the current model’s 6.5-second benchmark.

Under the skin, the new Bolt will utilize a fresh EV-centric architecture. The new Bolt will share these bones with models like the new Cruise AV, which is tipped to be an autonomous version of the second-generation Bolt. In addition, the next-gen platform will be used for an impressive nine further zero-emission vehicles, including a few crossovers to boot.

We’re still quite a ways off from anything official from GM, but as electric vehicles become more and more mainstream, it makes sense for the automaker to follow the Bolt’s lead in this space.

References

Read our full review on the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt.

Read more Chevrolet news.