At CES this past week, GM chairman and CEO described the production model of the Chevy Bolt, the all-electric vehicle, not to be confused with the Volt, which is a sometimes electric vehicle, by saying:

“We see the Bolt EV as more than just a car. It’s an upgradeable platform for new technologies.”

That whole platform thing makes it sound, well, cooler, doesn’t it? But how many drive cars because they are platforms?

(photo by Steve Fecht for Chevrolet)

Barra went on to say, “Now for the real kicker: this isn’t some science project, or a concept that is years away. The Bolt EV will be in production this year.”

Now certainly at a price of ~$30K after tax rebates, incentives and whatnot, the Bolt is quite a deal.  With a range of some 200 miles, it is dwarfed in distance only by the Tesla Model S, which also has a price tag that isn’t tiny.  (E.g., you might be able to get a two-car garage full of Bolts for the price of one Tesla.)

But we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that there are other cars–albeit with lesser range–available, including the BMW i3, VW eGolf, Fiat 500e, and Nissan LEAF, so it’s not like General Motors is the only alternative here.

Still, credit must be given to the company that seems to more fully understand that it needs to get faster and different in order to maintain relevance.