Good news for General Motors — after a very public, and very expensive battery recall announcement, the automaker has reportedly remedied almost half the vehicles included in the recall. A quarterly report shared by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed that 26,925 vehicles out of a total 57,414 have had recall work completed as of April 22.
This progress signifies about 45 per cent of the total number of vehicles recalled, while 210 vehicles are listed as “unreachable,” and a further 345 are listed as “removed.” Chevy Bolt drivers were first notified of a potential battery defect between August 13, 2021, and October 12, 2021, and all 2017-2019 Bolt EV and EUV models are affected. The defect could lead to battery fires in Bolt EVs that were nearly or fully charged.
GM also recently restarted the production of new Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs at its Orion Assembly plant on April 4th, after an extended hiatus.
While this recall undoubtedly slowed GM’s EV momentum at least temporarily, battery supplier LG is on the hook for the financial repercussions. The total cost of the recall is reportedly US$1.9 billion; however, GM and LG remain partners in Ultium Cells LLC, which has plans to develop four battery plants for continued GM EV production.
