Christmas is coming in August for prospective Chevrolet Bolt EV owners

Chevrolet promised it would deliver its first Bolt EVs in 2016, and it did. A nationwide rollout of the new electric car would take longer, but apparently, it won't take as long as Chevrolet originally thought.

The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will go on sale nationwide in August, Automotive News reports, citing remarks from Steve Majoros, Chevrolet's marketing director for cars. The order books are now open for all US dealers that received Chevrolet's certification for selling electric vehicles.

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Previously, estimates pegged dealer orders to start in July, with deliveries landing in showrooms in September.

The Bolt EV technically "went on sale" in 2016, after the automaker delivered the first three cars to San Francisco Bay Area residents. Sales started in California and Oregon -- locations considered friendlier to EVs -- before a slow state-by-state expansion in early 2017. Through May, Chevrolet has sold 6,529 Bolt EVs, according to Good Car Bad Car.

This is Chevrolet's first 50-state EV, as the company previously sold the Spark EV in a handful of states. Its EPA-estimated 238-mile range is right in the alleged "sweet spot" that should help ease the transition from gas-powered cars to EVs. We drove it, and we liked it, and we imagine a big chunk of the country will, too.

This early delivery means Chevrolet will be that much further ahead of Tesla, which has yet to begin production of the Model 3, the most affordable Tesla model to date that should exist as a direct competitor to the Bolt EV. Chevrolet lacks the cult of personality that surrounds Tesla and its vehicles, but a more traditional automaker offering a proper EV might help convert owners who don't necessarily trust the Kool-Aid coming from Silicon Valley. Interesting times are ahead, dear readers.

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