The Chevy Bolt has been named North American Car of the Year at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) today, making it the third significant award for the Detroit-based automaker’s first long-range all-electric sedan. The recognition follows two previously won awards; Chevy Bolt won Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in November, and took top honors as Green Car of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Today’s annual award was based on votes casted by dozens of journalists who regularly test drive vehicles, including GM’s Chevy Bolt.
Steve Majoros, Chevrolet’s marketing manager said of the Bolt when it won Green Car of the Year last November, “There’s been a lot of talk about building an affordable electric car with a 200-mile range that brings electric vehicles to the mainstream, but only one manufacturer has done that, and it’s us”.
The Bolt is said to have a range of 238 miles per single charge, more than doubling the range of other affordable electric cars on the market with the exception of Tesla. Silicon Valley-based Tesla is expected to deliver its much-anticipated mass market Model 3 at the end of this year. Tesla’s Model 3 premium four-dour sedan will have a range of at least 215 miles per single charge – rumors within the Tesla community indicate that the range will be closer to 300 miles when paired with an optional, larger battery pack – and share a comparable starting price of $35,000. The electric car company headed up by serial tech entrepreneur Elon Musk was not in attendance at the Detroit Auto Show, amid an ongoing feud with Michigan lawmakers over the company’s right to sell direct to consumers within the state.
Chrysler’s new Pacifica minivan, which the company debuted from last week’s CES 2017, was named North American Utility of the Year, marking it as the first vehicle to be given an award within the category. The Honda Ridgeline pickup was named North American Truck of the Year.
