$30,000 Chevy Equinox EV is about affordability and utility

DETROIT — The Chevrolet Equinox EV can't rock-crawl and crab- walk like the GMC Hummer EV, it can't tow or haul big loads like the Chevy Silverado EV, and it doesn't offer the luxury features or feel of the Cadillac Lyriq.

But its $30,000 starting price and position in the industry's most popular segment are set to give the Equinox EV an outsized role in General Motors' quest to become the top-selling electric vehicle maker in the U.S.

"The Equinox is going to be a game changer for General Motors and for Chevrolet," said Walker Starling, a Chevy dealer in Orlando. "It's going to be a pivot point where the market responds favorably. The price point and the packaging are going to surprise people."

The 2024 Equinox EV's base model will have a 250-mile driving range, with higher-priced trims offering up to 300 miles. It will be GM's most affordable vehicle powered by the Ultium battery technology that also underpins the electric Silverado, Lyriq and six-figure Hummer.

Chevy will continue making the gasoline- powered Equinox, long one of GM's bestsellers, after the electric version arrives next year. The base model won't be available right away, though. Chevy will begin selling a midlevel version next fall before adding the $30,000 LT1 and three other trims later in the same model year.

The Equinox EV's arrival is expected to roughly coincide with the demise of GM's cheapest EV today, the Chevy Bolt. The Bolt EV, which uses previous-generation batteries and has a 259-mile range, currently starts at $32,495 including shipping, but the 2023 model will cost $6,000 less to make room for the Equinox.

"The Equinox EV is a true compact SUV, and it does fit better into the highest-volume segment in the U.S.," said Stephanie Brinley, senior analyst for the Americas at S&P Global. "This opens up a larger potential pool of customers who are likely to reject the Bolt for being too small. In addition, consumer attitudes seem to be shifting toward greater acceptance of EVs relatively quickly. The Equinox EV could be well positioned to take advantage of that interest for buyers in the sub-$35,000 range, though it is likely that the upper Equinox trim levels could ultimately see a price above $40,000."

The Equinox EV offers more utility and interior room than the Bolt EV's hatchback body style. To accommodate the battery pack, it's 7 inches longer and 3 inches wider than the gasoline-powered Equinox.

"In addition to the size, the Equinox also looks a lot more premium inside than the Bolt, which should make it more appealing in a very competitive market," said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights.

The Equinox EV's $30,000 starting price excludes shipping, which adds $1,395 to the price of today's Equinox. The electric version will be assembled at Ramos Arizpe Assembly, one of two plants in Mexico where GM builds the combustion Equinox.
A Chevy spokeswoman said the company is waiting on guidance to determine whether the Equinox EV will be eligible for newly revised federal incentives that could make it $7,500 cheaper for buyers.

Starling, a third-generation GM dealer who owns Starling Chevrolet, has been bullish on EVs ever since Tesla broke through with the Model S a decade ago. In fact, to prepare for the day he would sell EVs, Starling bought a Tesla because he wanted to understand what it was like to live with one and drive it daily.

He's firmly convinced the Equinox will be Chevy's first high-volume EV hit.

Starling believes it will have broader appeal than the Bolt EV, which often relied on big discounts to find buyers and was hampered by a recall tied to battery fires last year.

"The exterior styling is going to resonate with a lot more people. And the interior room is what the market wants right now," said Starling, whose dealership has created a niche by aggressively marketing EVs. The store has sold all the Bolts it could get this year and had none in inventory last week.

The base Equinox EV comes with front-wheel drive, an 11-inch touch screen, manual-adjusting front seats, and a single 210-hp electric motor rated at 242 pound-feet of torque. Upgrading to a version with electric all-wheel drive adds a second motor for a total of 290 hp and 346 pound-feet of torque.
All versions above the base model will have an estimated 300 miles of range with fwd and 280 miles with awd, Chevy said, as well as a front LED light bar. Chevy didn't release pricing for trims above the base model.

Chevy engineers estimate that, when plugged into a DC fast charger, the Equinox EV battery pack can regain as much as 70 miles of range in 10 minutes. That compares with 90 miles in 30 minutes for the Bolt.
Standard safety features include automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning and automatic high beams.
In addition to awd and the longer-range battery, the options list includes Super Cruise, adaptive cruise control, a 17.7-inch touch screen and a head-up display.

GM has several other EV debuts on tap for next year, including the Hummer EV SUV and the Blazer EV. The Blazer is larger than the Equinox and starts at $45,295 before shipping for the electric version, about 50 percent more than the base Equinox EV.