Despite having a "2" in its name, which usually indicates a second generation of a platform in GM nomenclature, BEV2 had no direct predecessor. The concept of "BEV1" actually refers to the General Motors EV1, the first electric car of the 21st century. However, the EV1 and vehicles on BEV2 differ greatly, in part due to the two-decade gap between them.
2010 - 2015: Gamma derivatives
In 2011, GM announced that they had finished development of an EV supplier base in China. This coincided with the introduction of the Springo, an EV based on the Gamma platform's Chevrolet Sail. Two years later in 2013, a similar EV variant was released of the Sail's American-market equivalent, the Spark. This Spark EV was sold until 2016, the same year as the introduction of the Bolt, and, though GM openly stated that the Bolt's platform was not derived from Gamma, the Bolt's model codes began with G2, suggesting influence of these vehicles upon it.
In 2016, Chevrolet unveiled a production version of the Bolt, the first vehicle on BEV2, and the first dedicated EV from GM in 20 years. LG Chem and other LG divisions reportedly develop and install most of the components that make it an electric vehicle, per an agreement for the model. This vehicle is the first to be underpinned by BEV2 and also the strongest-selling, with over 16,000 sold at the end of 2018.
2017 - present: planned use minimized
On October 2, 2017, GM announced a plan to introduce two new main EV models in the next eighteen months, followed by an additional eighteen electric models by 2023. The next month GM extended their commitment, aiming for a production volume of one million electric vehicles by 2026. None of these promised actions, however, have been enacted in full. In the eighteen-month period, only the Baojun E200 was released, which, being the product of a joint venture, is not at all a main brand model. Since the end of the eighteen-month period, the Chevrolet Menlo is the only main brand EV that GM has produced, and it still is limited to the Chinese market. Much of the exclusivity of EVs to China can be explained by the zero-emission vehicles mandate that country's government has put in place, requiring manufacturers to have 8% percent of their volume be ZEVs in 2012, and 12% in 2020. On November 15, 2017, further clarification was made by GM CEOMary Barra as to what the next five years of electric models would be:
As of April 2020, the only one of these model to come to fruition whatsoever is in the category of "7-passenger large SUV", with the upcoming 2021 GMC Hummer truck and SUV, however this is slated to use its own BT1 platform alongside a possible electrified Escalade, still without mention or indication of BEV2. Evidence of this electric truck platform exists as early as April 2019, in which GM entered talks of co-production with Rivian, though these ultimately fell through. In March of 2019, GM announced its intentions to build another model very similar to the Bolt upon BEV2 at Orion Assembly alongside the Bolt, which has since been in development in addition to the Hummer. This model is currently in pre-production as the Bolt EUV, and all evidence currently indicates it will also ride on BEV2. In addition to being branded as a Chevrolet, a Chinese-market variant is slated to be introduced in 2021 as the Buick Velite 7. This crossover appears to have formerly been mentioned then removed from GM's 2017 announcement.
Successor
GM had originally planned to produce a replace for the BEV2 platform by 2021. This platform was to be called BEV3 and be a direct upgrade in all ways to the current platform. Many vehicles were slated to be underpinned by this platform, the first of which being a Cadillac-branded crossover based on the Lyriq concept. However, by December of 2019, the vehicle and platform were both postponed for an unknown duration. In March of 2020, GM unveiled their newest lithium-electric architecture, called Ultium. This combination of motors and batteries was announced to underpin future GM EVs. However, there has been no mention of the name BEV3 since the prior announcement of delays.
Applications
Five vehicles have used the BEV2 platform since its creation, four of which are sold exclusively in developing markets.
The E100 and E200 have both been rebadged under the Wuling marque with the same for the Indonesian market. Additionally, from SAIC-GM, a joint venture with SAIC Motor, the E200 has also been rebadged under SAIC's MG marque with the same name for sale in India. From its inception until 2020, the Chevrolet Bolt was sold in Europe as the Opel Ampera-e.
See Also
General Motors, the automotive conglomerate that manufactures this platform
Chevrolet, Buick Wuling, and Baojun, the three GM marques that use this platform
