According to The New York Times, General Motors Co. (GM) is expanding a previously issued vehicle recall for the Chevrolet Bolt over battery fire risks. The recall now covers every single Bolt EV produced to date.
Late last year, GM recalled 68,667 Chevy Bolt units manufactured between 2017 and 2019, admitting to a manufacturing defect that could cause the EV’s battery to overheat and catch fire. Last month, the veteran automaker recalled the same selection of Bolt EVs once again, after advising owners to park their Bolts outdoors.
In an announcement on Friday, GM expanded this recall to Bolts from model years 2020-2022, as well as a few 2019 Bolts that were previously exempted.
All 141,000 Chevy Bolts produced so far are now subject to the recall, and the expansion will cost GM an additional $1 billion USD on top of the $800 million USD it had already allocated for the previous recalls. The automaker added that it would be seeking reimbursement from LG Chem, the battery supplier GM sourced the defective batteries from.
“In the transition to an all-electric future, we know that building and maintaining trust is critical,” said Doug Parks, an executive vice president at GM, in a statement. “G.M. customers can be confident in our commitment to taking the steps to ensure the safety of these vehicles.”
The manufacturing defect at the root of this problem persisting with even the 2022 model year Bolts is not a good look for General Motors, which is banking heavily on EVs under CEO Mary T. Barra’s reign.
GM recently announced that it would up its investments in electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion USD by 2025, and transition to an all-electric portfolio by 2035.
