By Eric J. Savitz, editor-in-chief, GM News
By Eric J. Savitz, editor-in-chief, GM News
Chevrolet is on a roll. To understand why, you need to talk to Scott Bell.
It’s been more than three years since the 36-year General Motors vet took the reins at the iconic 113-year-old brand. And under his steady hand, Chevrolet has flourished. In fact, Chevy has increased its share of the U.S. auto market in each of the last three years - and it is on target to further expand its slice of the pie in 2025. There is strong demand across Chevy’s portfolio of gas-powered trucks and crossovers. And the Chevy EV business is rocking. Chevrolet is now #2 in U.S. EV market share, thanks in part to the huge success of the Chevy Equinox EV – which in July had higher U.S. sales than any other non-Tesla vehicle has ever recorded in a single month. Just a year ago, Chevrolet was the #7 EV brand.
GM News sat down with Bell – his official title is VP, Global Chevrolet - to talk about the Chevy growth trend, the latest on the Corvette, the upcoming return of the Bolt, and lots more.
Q: Scott, Chevy has been on a roll.
A: In our industry, to grow market share is a big deal. To do that in back-to-back years is crazy. To do it back-to-back-to-back is crazier still - and we’ve done that, expanding our share for three straight years. Now we’re going for year four - so far in 2025, we’re up again from where we were 12 months ago. It is an amazing accomplishment, made possible by many in this company.
Q: People like Chevy’s current lineup.
A: Product drives what we do, and our portfolio has always been good. But remember that Chevy has been known in the past for our trucks. In crossovers, where most of the industry volume is now, we didn’t historically have a dominant role. But we do now.
Q: What’s changed?
A: We are gaining more market share in crossovers than ever before. It starts with Trax, our entry level crossover. Trax has had a huge positive influence in our share growth. You look at anything in the marketplace at the Trax price point – they start around $22,0001 - and there’s not much that can match it. You can see that in the volume growth.
Q: And it isn’t just Trax, of course.
A: In the mainstream segments – compact crossovers and midsize crossovers – it started with Traverse. It has been going back and forth with Trax as our fastest growing vehicle. And the ICE version of Equinox has come on strong – its sales are off-the-charts good. We’ve taken what’s been successful for Chevrolet in the past – our truck DNA – and inserted that into the latest models of Traverse and Equinox. If you compare current models to previous ones, you’ll see that on display.
CAPTION: Scott Bell with a Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss
Q: Where does it show up?
A: It’s about design, first and foremost. They sit more upright. The driver has better visibility, bigger command of the road. You feel it when you’re in the vehicle. Its persona, its presence, feels more masculine. There’s a little more boldness to the design. And that translates into variants. One of the fastest selling Traverse models is the Z71 off-road package, which adds all-terrain tires, lifted suspension and a few other upgrades. We never had a Z71 Traverse before – it lived on Silverado, and was later added to Tahoe, where it was one of our most sought-after models. And we brought it to the Traverse.
Q: Who are the Chevy crossover buyers?
A: Geographically, we have moved beyond our traditional strength in New York and the upper Midwest into other areas – we are selling Traverse, Trax, Equinox, Trailblazer, and Blazer in those markets, but also in Texas, Florida, and California. We’ve seen growth across the country. I give a lot of credit to our design and engineering teams but also have to thank our dealers for that success.
Q: Equinox EV has been on a roll, with huge sales in July. Tell me about how it became so popular.
A: It has been an interesting ride, and not an easy one – we had to design and engineer the car, build our own components, batteries, and motors, enter the EV marketplace - and work on educating dealers that this is an area of opportunity. You sell an EV, it's a little different than an ICE sale. We had experience with Bolt, particularly in California. But selling an Equinox EV in places like Dallas or Miami, that was new for us. But we went after it, and we went after it hard. The product is awesome, but that initially wasn’t enough for demand to take off on its own.
Q: What did we have to do?
A: The EV experience is new to many. It started with getting our dealers in them. We said, experience them for yourselves. Have your salespeople drive them. It’s been a journey, but it has been rewarding to see how far we’ve come. We are now number two in the EV space after Tesla. That’s just happened in the last six months. Nobody who is doing significant EV volume is growing at the rate we are. It started with Blazer, and then Equinox and Silverado. And as I say all the time, the more we sell, the more we sell.
CAPTION: Chevrolet's Scott Bell with a Corvette E-Ray
Q: The success makes people more comfortable with our EVs – dealers and buyer alike.
A: Right. We saw it with Bolt, where in California it really helped the brand. Word of mouth really matters, and we’ve seen it now coast to coast. And these are conquest buyers - 50% to 60% of our EV sales are to people new to the Chevy brand. Two years ago, we told dealers that they shouldn’t be trying to convince someone who bought a gas-powered Equinox to buy an EV. There are plenty of people who want to buy EVs, and Chevrolet should be in their consideration set.
Q: EV owners tend to stay EV owners.
A: Once you commit to that lifestyle, you might find your life is better. If you installed a charger at home, you’re certainly not going back. About 70% of people who buy EVs stay in EVs. People are loyal to EV propulsion. And with EVs, it’s easier to sell the second one than it was to sell the first one. The orders we’re getting now are for cars that won’t be delivered to dealers until after the EV tax credits are gone, and the dealers and buyers still want them.
Q: I’ve been driving a Bolt since 2018, I have a charger in my garage, and I can’t imagine going back. It’s a compelling experience. EVs are peppy, they are fun to drive, and you get a lot of torque. And they don’t require a whole lot of maintenance.
A: Dealers initially worried they would lose their service business. But it turns out EV owners won’t trust the technology to just anybody – so they are going to the dealer for things that ICE owners might address with independent mechanics. Dealers are seeing loyalty in the service lane, which is super compelling for them.
Q: What makes the Equinox EV so appealing?
A: Well, what weighs on the mind of an EV owner? Range anxiety. And there’s not a more affordable EV in the marketplace that has 319 miles of range2 – it doesn’t exist. If you are looking for as much range as you can get for the dollar you’re spending, there’s your story. But also the styling is awesome. And the technology inside is phenomenal. When you get in the car, it’s a wow. We broke a record in June for monthly sales for the Equinox EV, and we blew that record out of the water in July. It delivers, and it delivers on all fronts.
Q: Let’s talk about the Bolt’s return for the 2027 model year. As a Bolt owner, I can’t wait.
A: We’re excited. The folks that are in them love them – and they were sad when it left. I think they’re going to be really pleased, because we built on the success of its predecessor. Now, it will have a lot of the styling cues of the old Bolt EUV, but there are other meaningful updates you’ll learn more about when we reveal it this fall. It will be the first Chevy EV with a NACS charging adapter for a much-improved charging experience. It’s the fun car you know and love, but just better all around, and at a compelling MSRP, positioned below the Equinox EV. They’ll be in production by the end of the year with the first sales occurring early next.
Q: Chevrolet is doubling down here on affordability.
A: We offer Equinox, Trax, and Colorado, all with models under $30,000.1 In a world where the average transaction price for a new car is like $50,000, it’s a great position for us. You can walk that affordability story up to a Corvette ZR1, with 1,064 horsepower, a supercar for around $170,0001 to start, versus competitors at $1 million or more. Value is a core pillar for Chevrolet, and we bring that to everything we do.
Q: Corvette has been having a big year, with new model launches and a flurry of new concept cars. How does the ‘Vette fit with the rest of the brand?
A: It’s a statement brand, and we’re fortunate that it's sold as a Chevrolet. The C7 engineers pushed that Corvette generation to the very edge of its limits and capabilities. And then our engineers put the engine in the midsection, and that changed Corvette forever. When we moved to the C8, it changed our buyers – they were younger, from different walks of life. Our engineers knew this was just the beginning – with the mid-engine vehicle, there was more they could do with performance and horsepower, making it a true track killer. It started with Stingray, and then E-Ray was a step up, with all-wheel drive capability and electrification. I don’t know that anybody could have imagined we could go all the way to 1,064 horsepower with the ZR1, with that motor and twin turbo capability. I went to a test ride at COTA [the Circuit of the Americas track, in Austin, Texas] and I rode with one of our engineers doing 180 mph. I’d never in my life been in a car driving at that speed.
Q: But you weren’t driving.
A: No, that’s another skill set. But what’s interesting is that the people who engineer the ZR1 also drive it. Some race on weekends. The engineers are the ones who set track records. They are the ones who took the car to the Nürburgring in Germany, where we set some historic lap times, and crowning the ZR1 and ZR1X as the fastest American cars to lap that race track. Those are the people who brought this thing to life. And now you have all-wheel drive capability with the ZR1X, and it’s just an amazing story for us. For Chevrolet, it creates all this attention with consumers. And maybe they don’t buy a Corvette, but it might help persuade them to buy a Trax.
Q: Let’s turn to motorsports. How does racing boost the brand for consumers?
A: Racing is in our brand and DNA. Louis Chevrolet, our founder, was a race car driver. There are performance models across the portfolio, ZR2 pickup trucks, ZR1 Corvettes, the Blazer EV SS. We learn throughout the NASCAR series - our engineers are involved with those race teams, working every day at the track - and that tech transfers back to our performance vehicles and vice versa. We continue to push what we learn in motorsports into everything we do at Chevrolet. It's a fun piece of the business. And it adds credibility to who we are.
Q: Scott, as you look forward, what are the biggest challenges for you and Chevrolet?
A: The challenge is to maintain our momentum. This EV moment is real. Buyer interest is real. The value we offer versus our competitors is real. The vehicles we deliver to our customers, that’s real. And the fact that we’re number two in the industry, and that we are gaining more share each month is real. There are still obstacles to climb, perceptions to change as it relates to EVs, but number two is a good place to be, and we don’t want to give that back. We've all worked way too hard to get here. We’re going to continue to do all the great things we're doing with all of our ICE vehicles, but if we can keep that EV momentum, it's incremental business. And EVs expand our customer base. And they are a great solution for many, not just a few.
Q: Scott, thanks so much.
1 The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price excludes destination freight charge, tax, title, license, dealer fees and optional equipment. Dealer sets final price.
2 On a full charge. EPA estimated. Actual range will vary based on several factors, including ambient temperature, terrain, battery age and condition, loading, and how you use and maintain your vehicle.
Chevrolet is on a roll. To understand why, you need to talk to Scott Bell.
It’s been more than three years since the 36-year General Motors vet took the reins at the iconic 113-year-old brand. And under his steady hand, Chevrolet has flourished. In fact, Chevy has increased its share of the U.S. auto market in each of the last three years - and it is on target to further expand its slice of the pie in 2025. There is strong demand across Chevy’s portfolio of gas-powered trucks and crossovers. And the Chevy EV business is rocking. Chevrolet is now #2 in U.S. EV market share, thanks in part to the huge success of the Chevy Equinox EV – which in July had higher U.S. sales than any other non-Tesla vehicle has ever recorded in a single month. Just a year ago, Chevrolet was the #7 EV brand.
GM News sat down with Bell – his official title is VP, Global Chevrolet - to talk about the Chevy growth trend, the latest on the Corvette, the upcoming return of the Bolt, and lots more.
Q: Scott, Chevy has been on a roll.
A: In our industry, to grow market share is a big deal. To do that in back-to-back years is crazy. To do it back-to-back-to-back is crazier still - and we’ve done that, expanding our share for three straight years. Now we’re going for year four - so far in 2025, we’re up again from where we were 12 months ago. It is an amazing accomplishment, made possible by many in this company.
Q: People like Chevy’s current lineup.
A: Product drives what we do, and our portfolio has always been good. But remember that Chevy has been known in the past for our trucks. In crossovers, where most of the industry volume is now, we didn’t historically have a dominant role. But we do now.
Q: What’s changed?
A: We are gaining more market share in crossovers than ever before. It starts with Trax, our entry level crossover. Trax has had a huge positive influence in our share growth. You look at anything in the marketplace at the Trax price point – they start around $22,0001 - and there’s not much that can match it. You can see that in the volume growth.
Q: And it isn’t just Trax, of course.
A: In the mainstream segments – compact crossovers and midsize crossovers – it started with Traverse. It has been going back and forth with Trax as our fastest growing vehicle. And the ICE version of Equinox has come on strong – its sales are off-the-charts good. We’ve taken what’s been successful for Chevrolet in the past – our truck DNA – and inserted that into the latest models of Traverse and Equinox. If you compare current models to previous ones, you’ll see that on display.
Q: Where does it show up?
A: It’s about design, first and foremost. They sit more upright. The driver has better visibility, bigger command of the road. You feel it when you’re in the vehicle. Its persona, its presence, feels more masculine. There’s a little more boldness to the design. And that translates into variants. One of the fastest selling Traverse models is the Z71 off-road package, which adds all-terrain tires, lifted suspension and a few other upgrades. We never had a Z71 Traverse before – it lived on Silverado, and was later added to Tahoe, where it was one of our most sought-after models. And we brought it to the Traverse.
Q: Who are the Chevy crossover buyers?
A: Geographically, we have moved beyond our traditional strength in New York and the upper Midwest into other areas – we are selling Traverse, Trax, Equinox, Trailblazer, and Blazer in those markets, but also in Texas, Florida, and California. We’ve seen growth across the country. I give a lot of credit to our design and engineering teams but also have to thank our dealers for that success.
Q: Equinox EV has been on a roll, with huge sales in July. Tell me about how it became so popular.
A: It has been an interesting ride, and not an easy one – we had to design and engineer the car, build our own components, batteries, and motors, enter the EV marketplace - and work on educating dealers that this is an area of opportunity. You sell an EV, it's a little different than an ICE sale. We had experience with Bolt, particularly in California. But selling an Equinox EV in places like Dallas or Miami, that was new for us. But we went after it, and we went after it hard. The product is awesome, but that initially wasn’t enough for demand to take off on its own.
Q: What did we have to do?
A: The EV experience is new to many. It started with getting our dealers in them. We said, experience them for yourselves. Have your salespeople drive them. It’s been a journey, but it has been rewarding to see how far we’ve come. We are now number two in the EV space after Tesla. That’s just happened in the last six months. Nobody who is doing significant EV volume is growing at the rate we are. It started with Blazer, and then Equinox and Silverado. And as I say all the time, the more we sell, the more we sell.
Q: The success makes people more comfortable with our EVs – dealers and buyer alike.
A: Right. We saw it with Bolt, where in California it really helped the brand. Word of mouth really matters, and we’ve seen it now coast to coast. And these are conquest buyers - 50% to 60% of our EV sales are to people new to the Chevy brand. Two years ago, we told dealers that they shouldn’t be trying to convince someone who bought a gas-powered Equinox to buy an EV. There are plenty of people who want to buy EVs, and Chevrolet should be in their consideration set.
Q: EV owners tend to stay EV owners.
A: Once you commit to that lifestyle, you might find your life is better. If you installed a charger at home, you’re certainly not going back. About 70% of people who buy EVs stay in EVs. People are loyal to EV propulsion. And with EVs, it’s easier to sell the second one than it was to sell the first one. The orders we’re getting now are for cars that won’t be delivered to dealers until after the EV tax credits are gone, and the dealers and buyers still want them.
Q: I’ve been driving a Bolt since 2018, I have a charger in my garage, and I can’t imagine going back. It’s a compelling experience. EVs are peppy, they are fun to drive, and you get a lot of torque. And they don’t require a whole lot of maintenance.
A: Dealers initially worried they would lose their service business. But it turns out EV owners won’t trust the technology to just anybody – so they are going to the dealer for things that ICE owners might address with independent mechanics. Dealers are seeing loyalty in the service lane, which is super compelling for them.
Q: What makes the Equinox EV so appealing?
A: Well, what weighs on the mind of an EV owner? Range anxiety. And there’s not a more affordable EV in the marketplace that has 319 miles of range2 – it doesn’t exist. If you are looking for as much range as you can get for the dollar you’re spending, there’s your story. But also the styling is awesome. And the technology inside is phenomenal. When you get in the car, it’s a wow. We broke a record in June for monthly sales for the Equinox EV, and we blew that record out of the water in July. It delivers, and it delivers on all fronts.
Q: Let’s talk about the Bolt’s return for the 2027 model year. As a Bolt owner, I can’t wait.
A: We’re excited. The folks that are in them love them – and they were sad when it left. I think they’re going to be really pleased, because we built on the success of its predecessor. Now, it will have a lot of the styling cues of the old Bolt EUV, but there are other meaningful updates you’ll learn more about when we reveal it this fall. It will be the first Chevy EV with a NACS charging adapter for a much-improved charging experience. It’s the fun car you know and love, but just better all around, and at a compelling MSRP, positioned below the Equinox EV. They’ll be in production by the end of the year with the first sales occurring early next.
Q: Chevrolet is doubling down here on affordability.
A: We offer Equinox, Trax, and Colorado, all with models under $30,000.1 In a world where the average transaction price for a new car is like $50,000, it’s a great position for us. You can walk that affordability story up to a Corvette ZR1, with 1,064 horsepower, a supercar for around $170,0001 to start, versus competitors at $1 million or more. Value is a core pillar for Chevrolet, and we bring that to everything we do.
Q: Corvette has been having a big year, with new model launches and a flurry of new concept cars. How does the ‘Vette fit with the rest of the brand?
A: It’s a statement brand, and we’re fortunate that it's sold as a Chevrolet. The C7 engineers pushed that Corvette generation to the very edge of its limits and capabilities. And then our engineers put the engine in the midsection, and that changed Corvette forever. When we moved to the C8, it changed our buyers – they were younger, from different walks of life. Our engineers knew this was just the beginning – with the mid-engine vehicle, there was more they could do with performance and horsepower, making it a true track killer. It started with Stingray, and then E-Ray was a step up, with all-wheel drive capability and electrification. I don’t know that anybody could have imagined we could go all the way to 1,064 horsepower with the ZR1, with that motor and twin turbo capability. I went to a test ride at COTA [the Circuit of the Americas track, in Austin, Texas] and I rode with one of our engineers doing 180 mph. I’d never in my life been in a car driving at that speed.
Q: But you weren’t driving.
A: No, that’s another skill set. But what’s interesting is that the people who engineer the ZR1 also drive it. Some race on weekends. The engineers are the ones who set track records. They are the ones who took the car to the Nürburgring in Germany, where we set some historic lap times, and crowning the ZR1 and ZR1X as the fastest American cars to lap that race track. Those are the people who brought this thing to life. And now you have all-wheel drive capability with the ZR1X, and it’s just an amazing story for us. For Chevrolet, it creates all this attention with consumers. And maybe they don’t buy a Corvette, but it might help persuade them to buy a Trax.
Q: Let’s turn to motorsports. How does racing boost the brand for consumers?
A: Racing is in our brand and DNA. Louis Chevrolet, our founder, was a race car driver. There are performance models across the portfolio, ZR2 pickup trucks, ZR1 Corvettes, the Blazer EV SS. We learn throughout the NASCAR series - our engineers are involved with those race teams, working every day at the track - and that tech transfers back to our performance vehicles and vice versa. We continue to push what we learn in motorsports into everything we do at Chevrolet. It's a fun piece of the business. And it adds credibility to who we are.
Q: Scott, as you look forward, what are the biggest challenges for you and Chevrolet?
A: The challenge is to maintain our momentum. This EV moment is real. Buyer interest is real. The value we offer versus our competitors is real. The vehicles we deliver to our customers, that’s real. And the fact that we’re number two in the industry, and that we are gaining more share each month is real. There are still obstacles to climb, perceptions to change as it relates to EVs, but number two is a good place to be, and we don’t want to give that back. We've all worked way too hard to get here. We’re going to continue to do all the great things we're doing with all of our ICE vehicles, but if we can keep that EV momentum, it's incremental business. And EVs expand our customer base. And they are a great solution for many, not just a few.
Q: Scott, thanks so much.
1The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price excludes destination freight charge, tax, title, license, dealer fees and optional equipment. Dealer sets final price.
2On a full charge. EPA estimated. Actual range will vary based on several factors, including ambient temperature, terrain, battery age and condition, loading, and how you use and maintain your vehicle.