Chevrolet is unveiling an all-electric Equinox as the tool it expects will help parent General Motors Co. to persuade the masses to go electric.
The Equinox, announced Thursday, lands amid the competitive compact SUV segment that GM is looking to shake up with the electrified version of Chevy's second leading product behind the Silverado pickup.
"We think this is our big opportunity here to really start to get a mass adoption ... we have that expectation," Chevrolet Vice President Scott Bell said during a media event highlighting the new Equinox EV. "We believe Chevrolet will have the widest and best EV portfolio across the board to any of our competitors, and we truly live up to our motto of putting an EV out there for everyone."
GM expects the Equinox EV's starting price of its entry-level trim of around $30,000 will encourage the high-volume adoption it's shooting for across the company. The automaker expects to have the capacity to make more than 1 million EVs in North America by 2025 and then sell those. The 2024 Equinox EV will aid in the automaker's goals when it arrives in fall 2023, starting with a limited edition 2RS trim model.
The Mexico-built Equinox EV effectively will put a cherry on top of Chevy's electric lineup. It will hit roads after the electric Chevy Blazer arrives in summer 2023. An electric Silverado Work Truck for fleet customers is coming in spring 2023, with the consumer-facing, $105,000 RST model arriving in late 2023. And though they are built on a different electric platform, the Bolt EV and EUV still will be available until GM eventually ceases production of them at the Orion Assembly Plant to make EV trucks there instead.
"Every vehicle that they launch over the next couple of years and 18 months is another step forward to the goal, so they're all gonna have a unique importance depending on what segment they're in and what the target is," said Stephanie Brinley, principal analyst for S&P Global Mobility.
"With the Equinox EV, the $30,000 price point puts them in the highest-volume segment in the U.S. with an accessible price point. That has the ability to make electric vehicles available to many more people than they are today."
GM CEO Mary Barra appeared on CBS Thursday morning to reveal — and tout — the Equinox EV: "We think this vehicle is going to really change people's minds about electric vehicles. This is a vehicle that's going to surprise and delight customers."
CBS Mornings host Gayle King asked Barra if Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk inspired the Detroit automaker's EV transition to EVs, prompting Barra to push back at suggestions of Tesla's EV influence and leadership.
GM has been on its EV journey "actually for over two decades," she said. "We started with EV1, we think we were a little ahead of our time ... we've been in the EV business for quite a while but we really have seen a tipping point. And that's why General Motors made the commitment that by 2035 all our light-duty vehicles in the U.S. will be electric."
The reveal
Chevrolet is choosing not to use the return of the North American International Show in Detroit next week to reveal the Equinox EV. But the lineup of the brand's coming and current EVs will be on display there.
"The Detroit Auto Show will be the first time that Chevrolet showcases the totality of the EV portfolio that we've brought forward over the course of the last year," Chevrolet Director of Marketing Steve Majoros said. "Detroit is going to be a significant player for us when it comes to really the first public viewing and celebration of General Motors unleashing Chevrolet."
Instead of using the auto show, Chevrolet wanted to show the vehicle to more of the masses with Barra's CBS interview and commercials airing during the NFL kick-off game Thursday featuring the Buffalo Bills at the Los Angeles Rams.
"When you're a mainstream vehicle you've got to talk to all of America," Majoros said. "All the things this product offers are perfectly aligned with what customers are looking for. And so we're utilizing a massive media platform to help provide that broad base kick-off."
Pricing and range
The Equinox EV will be priced starting at around $30,000. Prices on higher-end trim levels weren't released. Whether the Equinox EV will qualify for tax incentives under the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act qualifications still is under review.
GM has been touting the $30,000 price tag since the start of 2022 and recently rolled back the price on the Bolt EV to below $30,000 ahead of the Equinox's arrival. The 2023 Bolt EV starts at $26,595, down from the 2022 starting price of $32,495. The 2023 Bolt EUV starts at $28,195, down from last year's starting price of $34,495. The Blazer 1LT trim and a police fleet model GM will offer starts at $44,995.
"We don't necessarily see them competing with each other," Bell said. "We think they're all going to do a great job bringing some new folks into the segment."
The fully electric Equinox is priced in line with its top electrified competitors in the compact SUV segment. The 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid starts at $29,575 and the 2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid starts at $32,010.
The Equinox EV comes in with a lower price than the all-electric 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5, which starts at $39,950, and the 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 with its starting price of $37,495.
"If they can actually offer that vehicle starting at $30,000 that's gonna be a really compelling product at that price point with the features that are going to be on there," said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights.
And if Chevy can keep the higher-end trim levels of the Equinox EV in the low $40,000-range "so that it's not crossing over too much into the Blazer territory, that makes it a really compelling offering against any of the competitors, especially the BEV competitors," Abuelsamid added.
The Equinox EV's range depends on the trim level and drive system. A larger battery size combined with front-wheel drive will give the Equinox EV up to 300 miles of range. An all-wheel drive option gets 280 miles. The base model with a standard battery pack gets 250 miles on a charge based on GM estimates.
The standard front-wheel-drive system gets a GM estimated 210 horsepower and 242 pound-feet of torque and the all-wheel drive system gets 290-horsepower and 346 pound-feet of torque.
One-pedal diving comes standard and is paired with regenerative braking, which converts kinetic energy into electricity that’s stored in the vehicle's battery pack for maximum driving range.
Design and technology
The Equinox EV will be available in varying trim levels with different design options and technology capabilities. The base 1LT trim features an 11-inch-diagonal infotainment screen, 11-inch-diagonal driver information center and 19-inch machine-face aluminum wheels.
The 2LT and 2RS versions will have an available 17.7-inch-diagonal infotainment screen and 11-inch-diagonal driver information center. They also feature a front LED light bar and roof rails. GM's Super Cruise autonomous driving technology will be available on these trims, along with the 3LT and 3RS models.
The Equinox EV comes with a list of standard safety features as part of Chevy Safety Assist, including lane keep assist with lane departure warning.
On the style front, the Equinox EV has an "expressive design" with athletic and bold accents with differing features for each trim.
The 2LT model is available with a white roof and blue exterior and a black with blue accented interior or a Sky Cool Gray interior, for example. The 2RS and 3RS are available with a black and red accented interior or Adrenaline red interior.
The inside seats five and has up to 57 cubic feet of max cargo room with the rear seat folded. More details and ordering information will be available closer to the start of production.
