The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV is priced to be everyone’s first electric vehicle

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GM wants to be the biggest seller of electric vehicles in the world, and the new Chevrolet Equinox EV is intended to be a major part of that effort. The Ultium platform will allow the SUV to get up to 300 miles of range and a starting price of around $30,000.

When the Chevy Equinox EV arrives at dealerships in the fall of 2020, it will be $13,000 cheaper than the Ford Mustang Mach-E, $35,000 cheaper than the Model Y, and almost $1,000 cheaper than the Ioniq 5. It will join Chevy's fast-growing lineup of EV's, which include the Silverado EV, Bolt EV and EUV.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January of last year, GM CEO Mary Barra announced that the Chevy Equinox EV would cost $30,000. A lot has happened since then, including historic inflation and supply chain constraints, that has led many automakers to raise prices for their entry level EV. The $30,000 price tag is more than just aspirational according to Chevrolet.

Scott Bell, vice president of global sales at Chevy, told reporters recently that they intend to build and sell a vehicle that starts in that price range. That is important to the success of what we are doing at Chevrolet, which is to build an EV for everyone.

EV sales are still growing despite the fact that they are more expensive than gas equivalents. GM hopes that a more affordable EV with a recognizable name like the Equinox will help spur a quicker switch to electric power. Other EV makers have been tripped up by battery costs, supply chain problems, and other factors.

There are a lot of things that can happen between now and when the Equinox EV goes on sale. Chevy won't say how much each trim level of the Equinox will cost, and won't say when it will be available.

Image: Chevy

Image: Chevy

Just a trim

The Chevy Equinox EV will come in a variety of trims and battery sizes. The base model 1LT will come with front-wheel drive and an EPA rated range of up to 300 miles. The range will be cut in half when you upgrade to an all-wheel drive format.

There will be two more trims, 2LT and 3LT, as well as two of the higher-specRS variant, 2RS and 3RS. Each version can be upgraded to AWD.

Super Cruise is a driver assist feature that allows for hands-free driving on 400,000 miles of roads in North America. For the Chevy Bolt EUV, there are Super Cruise options for around $2,200.

How’s it look?

The exterior design of the trim is the same as the gas-powered version. The front end is completely different, with a thin light bar running the full width of the vehicle and additional horizontal stylings that are very similar to the Ford mustang Mach-E. The front of the car is black with a redRS tag in the upper right corner. There is an optional black roof on the Chevrolet models.

The lower priced models will have 19-inch wheels, the 2RS will have 20-inch wheels, and the 3RS will have 21-inch wheels. Bigger wheels mean taller rides, but they also diminish range.

The Equinox will come standard with one-pedal driving, which allows the vehicle to accelerate and slow down at the same time, like most EV's. The range can be improved by using one-pedal driving to put energy back into the batteries.

The standard front-wheel drive version of the Equinox EV will get over 200hp and over 200 pound-foot of Torque, while the all-wheel drive version will get over 300hp and over 300 pound-foot of Torque. The vehicle's 0–60mph speed was not provided by Chevy.

Image: Chevy

Charge me up

We won't know how much usable energy these things will have until we learn more about the battery capacity.

There is a charge port on the driver's side. The charging module will add up to 34 miles of range per hour. The 3RS model has a 19.2 kilowatt module that can add up to 51 miles of range per hour of charging. 70 miles of range can be added in 10 minutes with the ability to accept fast charging speeds of up to 150 kilowatts.

GM has said that most of its Ultium-powered vehicles will have 400-volt battery packs and up to 200kW fast-charging capability, but, in the interest of keeping the price low, it chose a slightly smaller, less powerful architecture.

GM is working with Pilot and Flying J truck stops to build a coast-to-coast EV charging network. GM doesn't have its own charging stations likeTesla does. The company has its own vehicle apps and software that can be used with third-party charging services.

Image: Chevy

Image: Chevy

Interior musings

The Equinox EV is similar to its gas-powered counterpart in many ways. The 1LT and 2LT versions will have an instrument cluster with an 11-inch screen, while the 3LT, 2RS, and 3RS models will have a bigger screen.

It has two rows of seats that can seat five, but how comfortable it is remains to be seen. The max cargo room with the rear seat folded is less than the gas version.

The electric version of the Equinox will be nine inches longer than the regular version, but Chevy wouldn't say exactly how long it would be.

Image: Chevy

Final thoughts

In order to overtake Musk's company as the leading EV company in the world, GM plans to spend $30 billion on 30 new plug-in models over the next ten years. The EV market in the US is relatively small with only 6 percent of the market going to GM. According to CNBC, the company was out sold by legacy auto rivals.

GM will build the Chevy Equinox EV in Mexico. To be eligible for the tax credit, it has to meet one of the requirements. It's not certain whether it will meet the other requirements. The tax credit for some GM vehicles will be available again on January 1st, 2023, after the company sold 200,000 electric vehicles.

GM is trying to get a better grasp on its supply chain in order to become more vertically integrated. The company has said it will spend over $4 billion on the construction of two battery factories in North America.

The localizing of a cathode production facility will be done by the end of the 20th century. In a deal with the South Korean battery maker, it locked down 950,000 tons of material.

While other EV's have gone up in price, GM has resisted the urge to raise prices on its lowest priced EV, the Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV. The company decided to keep the discounted price through the end of the year.

Good news for the affordability of the Equinox EV should come from all of this.