General Motors launched an all-new electric vehicle Monday - a vehicle it says is its latest step toward its zero-emissions future.
The company took the veils off its all-new all-electric Chevy Bolt Electric Utility Vehicle - or EUV - alongside a new version of its standard Chevy Bolt Electric compact hatchback.
The Detroit-based company said that the new Chevy Bolt EUV will bring the best technologies of the Chevy Bolt into a taller and longer platform that will meet the demand of SUV buyers.
General Motors' executives said that the new EUV will sport the latest technologies on offer - including the company's hands-free super cruise semi-autonomous highway driving system and a new facial recognition system that automatically identifies if a driver is still paying attention to the road. The latter negates the need for drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel during long highway trips.
General Motors said the super cruise feature will only be available in select limited-access freeways across the U.S. and Canada. The system, which uses onboard cameras, radars and sensors, can only be enabled on lidar-mapped highways. General Motors said that it is working to map more highways, which it will gradually roll out in the coming years.
The new 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV is priced at $33,995 for the base model. General Motors executives said the new vehicle sports a more modern and muscular design compared to the Bolt EV. Due to its much larger size, the EUV also has a much roomier interior, executives said.
The Chevy Bolt EUV's range is only 9 miles lower than the Bolt EV, which has a range of 259 miles on a full charge.
"We want to put everyone in an EV and the new Bolt EUV and redesigned Bolt EV are crucial to doing so," General Motors' president, Mark Reuss, said in a statement.
The two vehicles are powered by General Motors' battery electric vehicle 2 platform, which is an evolution of the platform used for the original Bolt EV released in 2016. General Motors said that future models will be sporting its latest Ultium electric battery platform, starting with models released in 2022.
The new vehicles are part of General Motors' previously announced plans to release 30 new electric vehicles globally. The strategy is part of the company's plan to invest up to $27 billion toward its full electrification.
