Chevy Bolt Is IIHS Top Safety Pick

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has awarded the Chevrolet Bolt a 2017 Top Safety Pick rating. It is the first all electric car to claim that distinction. Bear in mind that the IIHS is a private organization and should not be confused with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), a government agency that awarded its highest rating to the Tesla Model X last week. The NHTSA website says the Chevy Bolt has not yet been rated.

The Bolt received good ratings in all five IIHS crashworthiness tests — small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints. The Chevy Bolt also has an optional front crash prevention system otherwise known as automatic emergency braking. That system is tested at speeds of 12 miles per hour and 25 miles per hour. IIHS gave it a superior rating. To qualify for a Top Safety Pick award, the system must receive either an advanced or superior rating.

The only quibble the IIHS had with the Bolt was its headlights, which it rated poor. It says they do a fine job of lighting the road ahead but produce too much glare for oncoming drivers. Sounds more like an adjustment problem rather than a structural issue.

Chevrolet is making the Bolt available nationwide about a month sooner than originally planned. Dealers across America are now accepting orders, which Chevrolet says will lead to cars being delivered to dealers in all 50 states by late August. Chevrolet has also begun a national advertising campaign for the Bolt. Full page ads in the Washington Post and the New York Times appeared for the first time last Sunday.

Chevrolet says its advertising campaign will be carefully targeted to reach people who are likely Bolt owners. Darin Gesse, marketing director for the Chevy Volt and Chevy Bolt told the press last year that customers for both cars “are not typical Chevy customers” because they arrive at showrooms well informed about the cars because of the research they have done online beforehand. Digital and social media campaigns are more likely than television ads. “our customers don’t really watch television,” Gesse said.

Chevrolet says it has video taped sales people who are successful at selling electric cars and using those videos to train others. Selling cars that run on electrons instead of molecules requires a more consultative process than many sales people are used to. Complaints about clueless dealers and sales personnel have been common among electric car shoppers for years. Chevrolet has little direct control over how its franchise dealers operate, but is trying to address those complaints through education.

Source: Electric Cars Report         Photo credit: Green Car Report