Chevrolet Equinox EV Touted As the Most Affordable Electric Car With 319 Miles of Range

GM has been among the legacy carmakers that were the most bullish about their chances to replace Tesla as the EV market leader. Two years ago, many believed this would happen by 2025, considering the tens of billions of dollars GM pledged to its EV strategy. Since then, the carmaker has scaled down its ambitions, as its bet on the Ultium EV platform didn’t yield the desired results. So far, GM has only produced a limited number of Ultium-based EVs, with the bulk of its sales made of the aging Chevrolet Bolt EV/EUV.In 2024, the veteran Bolt EV will no longer contribute to GM’s sales, so the Ultium models must take over. The carmaker doesn’t lack the EV models to do this, but until now, it hasn’t produced them in meaningful numbers. The Chevrolet Equinox EV was the most promising of them, as it was supposed to sell for about $30,000. If Chevrolet offered the Equinox EV at this price, GM would not have to worry about discontinuing Bolt EV production.

However, Chevrolet announced in December that its most affordable EV would have a slightly higher price, starting at $34,995. That’s more than a 16% increase, but the Equinox EV was still attractive. However, Chevrolet said the first variant to hit the market “in early 2024” was the more expensive 2RS trim, starting at $48,995. GM’s most affordable EV would have been dead in the water at this price, considering that the Tesla Model Y starts at $42,990.

It appears that GM finally acknowledged that, and Chevrolet changed the Equinox EV sales strategy. Instead of the 2RS trim, the first variant launching in the coming months is the base version 1LT. This allows GM to brag about offering the most affordable EV capable of 319 miles of range at $34,995. GM also announced that the Equinox EV will qualify for the $7,500 tax credit, effectively lowering the starting price to $27,495.

All other Equinox EV variants are listed as “coming soon” on the Chevrolet website, with lower prices than those announced in December. The most expensive Chevrolet Equinox EV trim is the 3RS, which starts at $46,795. Meanwhile, the 2RS is priced at $44,795 instead of $48,995, as announced last year. The other trims are 2LT, at $43,295, and 3LT, at $45,295. Note that these prices are for the FWD variants and include a $1,395 destination fee but not taxes and other potential dealer fees.

The FWD variants are EPA-rated for 319 miles (513 km) of range. Chevrolet also offers eAWD variants for every trim, with an estimated EPA range of 285 miles (459 km). This makes the Chevrolet Equinox EV competitive in terms of range, considering that the Tesla Model Y RWD is rated for 260 miles (418 km), while the Long-Range AWD variant goes 310 miles (510 km) on a charge. The only thing that matters now is for Chevrolet to be able to mass-produce the Equinox EV.