GM Bolt and Bolt EUV production halt extended to 2022

GM has been having a fiendish time getting the Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EV back in production. The automaker halted production lines in August at the Orion Assembly Plant while it dealt with rectifying the issue of battery fires caused by the packs supplied by LG Chem and LG Electronics. GM eventually recalled every Bolt, more than 140,000 units, at a cost of roughly $1.9 billion so it could install the re-engineered packs monitored by advanced diagnostic software. Orion lines restarted on November 1, but only for two weeks. Now, GM has confirmed to GM Authority that an intended production restart on December 6 won't happen. Instead, Bolts will be out of production "for the remainder of the 2021 calendar year."

LG Chem has been making the new, improved batteries since mid-September at two Michigan facilities, the first shipments to dealers happening in mid-October. The 65-kWh replacement units come with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, and work on a revised chemistry that appears to have improved the hatchback's range.

The GM spokesperson told GMA the company wants to focus on getting all batteries replaced. Dealers haven't been able to sell the Bolts on their lots, either, with those cars needing to be recertified by the mothership before finding new homes. Instead of giving even a tentative date for new Bolt production, the spokesperson said there would be an update at the beginning of next year. "We will continue to inform employees at the appropriate time of any additional production schedule adjustments in early 2022, as we continue to focus on battery module replacements."

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