GM to stop production of Chevy Bolt EV next year, move China-made Buick to the US factory

General Motors is shuffling where vehicles are made in a move that will move production away from China and Mexico and to a US factory in Kansas. The changes also mean the end of the rebooted Chevrolet Bolt EV, the only vehicle currently built at the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas.

The factory’s musical chairs reflect the economic and political environment, shaped by the Trump administration’s tariff policies and its decision to end the federal EV tax credit, which provides up to $7,500 for qualifying electric vehicles. These changes make it more expensive to build vehicles in China and Mexico that are then sold in the United States.

Production of the 2027 Chevy Bolt EV, which landed in dealerships this month, is expected to be completed in about a year and a half. The new Chevy Bolt EV, priced at $29,990 including destination charges, is one of the most affordable new EVs available to US consumers.

GM confirmed to TechCrunch that the next-generation Buick Envision, currently built in China, will move to the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas, starting in 2028. The gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox, made at the San Luis Potosí plant in Mexico, will move to the Kansas plant in mid-2027.

Meanwhile, the Bolt will have a short lifespan if GM follows through with its previously announced plans.

“When we revealed the Bolt in October, we said and it was widely reported that it would be a limited run model,” a GM spokesperson said in a statement sent to TechCrunch. “We also previously announced the gas-powered Equinox will arrive in Fairfax in mid-2027 after production of the Bolt winds down. Today we announced Buick’s next-generation compact SUV will arrive in Fairfax beginning in 2028.”

The company still sells other EVs, including the electric Chevy Equinox and the Chevy Blazer. The question is whether GM will change course and keep the Bolt if sales are better than expected. We understand that GM has pledged to make new future investments at Fairfax Assembly for the next generation of affordable EVs. We just don’t know when.