Gary Zhou 
Chevrolet has resumed production of the Bolt EV and EUV following a series of battery issues that would sometimes result in spontaneous fires.
General Motors, the parent company of Chevrolet, spent $1.8 billion throughout the Bolt’s battery issue saga to resolve the problems. General Motors issued a series of recalls on the affected vehicles, which were described as “unpredictable” due to their defective battery modules. LG Energy Solution provides Chevy with the battery cells for the vehicle and said in a joint statement with GM in July 2021 that “the simultaneous presence of two rare manufacturing defects in the same battery cell” were increasing the risk of potential fires.
Production of the Bolt EV was halted in late August. GM said in a statement that it would “not resume repairs or restart production until we are confident LG is producing defect-free products for us.”
GM said in mid-February, the Bolt would resume production in early April. Things appear to be right on schedule, as GM Authority is now reporting the Bolt EV and EUV are resuming production at General Motors Orion Assembly Plant in Michigan.
The battery defects caused a widespread issuance of preventative measures from various entities to prevent the possibility of a fire. For example, a parking lot in California advised owners of the Bolt EV’s affected models to not park on their property due to the potential danger of fires.
Meanwhile, the U.S. agency responsible for vehicle recalls, the NHTSA, officially closed its investigation into the Bolt fires in February. The NHTSA reviewed reports of 24 Bolt fires, while GM said it only suspected that 18 of the 24 could be linked to battery defects.
The Bolt still holds plenty of credibility in the sector, especially as it beat out some of the industry’s biggest names, like the Tesla Model 3, to win U.S. News’ Best Electric Vehicle of 2021 award.
