General Motors has stopped production of the Chevy Bolt Electric Vehicle after several battery fires caused a huge recall that has already cost the firm nearly $2 billion. The automaker will not resume production of the 2022 Bolt and Bolt EUV cars until at least mid September. The global shortage of chips had caused it to temporarily stop production last week.
The recall repair process has been put on hold as GM still awaits new battery modules from South Korean conglomerate LG. It is confident that the batteries are free from defects. GM spokesperson Daniel Flores stated that the company will not restart production or resume repairs until it is certain that LG produces defect-free products.
This is the latest blow to one the most powerful and competitively priced electric cars on the market. It comes at a time when GM is preparing to drastically increase the number of EVs in their lineup. The new EVs will be powered by LG batteries, which are responsible for the Bolt fires. Despite GM's claims that it will make LG pay for the recall, Mary Barra, CEO of GM, told Bloomberg last week that the recall would not impact companies' plans to continue collaborating on EV battery technology.
After a few fires, GM first recalled 20172019 Chevy Bolts on November 2020. The company stated that it would try to prevent future fires and install new software on older Bolts, as well as all new models. The fix did not work as two additional Bolts were set on fire by Bolts equipped with the new software. GM issued a second recall, and finally shared that it believed certain cells defects were causing the fires.
GM then issued a third recall on August 20th for all Bolt EVs made, including the two new 2022 models that were launched this year, just days following a 2020 Bolt caught on fire.
