Production of Chevrolet Bolt EV Battery Resumes
General Motors announces a new action plan to ensure the safety of Chevy Bolt drivers. LG will increase its capacity to produce more batteries for GM.
It is no secret that highly-publicized fires are damaging Chevrolet Bolt’s reputation. As a result of this, General Motors is now in damage control mode. Following a massive recall, the automaker has come up with a “comprehensive action plan” that General Motors believes will ensure the safety of Chevy Bolt drivers. The company’s plan includes tweaking the software and hardware of Bolt EV and EUV. GM’s faith in this new plan is so strong that it has green-lit the production of Chevy Bolt batteries.
General Motors’ battery supplier, LG is already manufacturing batteries at its facilities in Hazel Park and Holland, Michigan. The Korean chemical company is even increasing its capacity to produce more batteries for GM. With new production processes in place and GM’s support, LG assures us that its quality assurance programs are much better now. The battery manufacturer will soon implement these processes in its other facilities.
Doug Parks GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, shared his thoughts on the situation. “We’re grateful for the patience of owners and dealers as we work to advance solutions to this recall,” said Parks. He further added, “Resuming battery module production is a first step and we’ll continue to work aggressively with LG to obtain additional battery supply. In addition, we’re optimistic a new advanced diagnostic software will provide more convenience for our customers.”
GM will soon launch new advanced diagnostic software. Customers should still follow safety guidelines.
LG estimates that it will start shipping replacement battery modules to dealers by the middle of next month. The replacement batteries will also get an 8-year/100,000-mile limited warranty. In a statement issued by General Motors, the company claims that the factors causing the fires were “rare circumstances.” Only battery packs with a folded separator and a torn anode present in the same cell are at risk of catching fire. General Motors will start launching “new advanced diagnostic software” over the next 60 days, which will detect defective battery modules in Bolt EVs.
In the meantime, the automaker recommends that customers continue to follow its safety guidance instructions. This means parking the vehicle outside after charging with plenty of space around. Secondly, GM also instructs customers to use Target Charge Level mode and limit their vehicle’s state of charge to 90%. The company also suggests that customers do not let the state of charge fall below 70 miles of range.
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