Dive Brief:
- General Motors and electric vehicle battery suppliers LG Energy Solution and LG Electronics have established a $150 million relief fund to reimburse Chevrolet Bolt EV owners that had their vehicle’s software updated or battery packs replaced due to a manufacturing defect, the automaker confirmed in an email to Automotive Dive on Friday.
- In August 2021, GM recalled all 2017-2022 model year Bolt EVs and 2022 Bolt electric utility vehicles after multiple reports of battery fires. The recall covered an additional 59,392 Bolt EVs not covered under the previous recalls in November 2020 and July 2021.
- GM, LG Electronics and LG Energy Solution reached commercial and confidential agreements in 2023 covering the costs of the Bolt recalls. Therefore, the automaker says it does not expect to incur any additional costs from the relief fund beyond what it has already recognized, a company spokesperson said.
Dive Insight:
The August 2021 recall of all Bolt models was for a condition where the battery could ignite and spread to the other parts of the vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received reports of at least five Bolt fires, including one case where a fire spread from the vehicle and ignited a home. The fire risk was present even if the vehicle was powered off and not plugged into a charger.
But after the initial reports of battery fires, GM and LG launched their own investigation into the Bolt EV battery fires and discovered what they described as “two rare manufacturing defects'' as the root cause, which led to the recall of all Bolts EVs.
At the time, GM asked Bolt owners to park their vehicles outdoors as a safety precaution and to not charge them overnight. The automaker also instructed Bolt owners to set their vehicle’s battery charging limit to 90% state of charge using in-vehicle settings or visit a dealer to have the settings updated. In addition, customers were instructed to recharge the battery after each use and not let it drain too low before recharging.
In October 2021, GM reached an agreement with its battery supplier LG Electronics to cover roughly $2 billion in costs associated with the Bolt battery recall.
GM has since discontinued the original Bolt, which was based on the automaker’s older EV platform. However, a new version of the Bolt is slated to return in 2025, which will be built on GM’s new Ultium EV platform that includes updated battery designs and other technological advancements. The flexible Ultium platform is also being used for the Equinox EV, Blazer EV and Silverado EV.
