- according to the epa, the 2020 chevy bolt ev has an estimated driving range of 259 miles, up from 238 miles.
- chevrolet says that it achieved the improvement by making changes to the chemistry of the cells of the lithium-ion battery pack, which now has a greater energy capacity.
- this range improvement puts the bolt ev ahead of several competitors from hyundai, kia, and tesla.
the 2020 chevy bolt ev will go further on a charge than before, with the epa reporting that the electric hatchback's range goes up to 259 miles, from 238. chevy says that this 8 percent improvement is due to changes to the chemistry of the cell electrodes in the battery. while the upgraded lithium-ion battery pack remains the same physical size as before and is packaged the same in the vehicle, the different chemistry means that its energy capacity goes up from 60.0-kwh to 66.0-kwh.
chevy's order guide does not show any other significant changes to the 2020 bolt other than a few new features and colors (oasis blue and cayenne orange metallic join the palette, while the bright-yellow shock color has been dropped). the 200-horsepower electric motor remains the same.
this new, bigger range number puts the bolt ev in front of several newer competitors, if only just. the hyundai kona electric is close behind, at an epa-rated 258 miles, while the kia soul ev sits at 243 miles, the tesla model 3 standard range plus offers 240 miles, and the kia niro ev sits at 239 miles.
we will update this post with any additional information from chevrolet as it becomes available.