Sept. 1, 2021—General Motors will keep its Orion Assembly plant idled and not start repairs on the nearly 141,000 recalled Chevrolet Bolts EVs and EUVs until it is confident its supplier can make a defect-free EV battery that does not pose a potential fire risk, the Detroit Free Press reported.
This marks the latest in a saga between GM and LG Chem regarding the Chevy Bolt that dates back to last year. GM has issued several recalls over the past year trying to fix an issue with the vehicle’s battery that is causing a fire risk. Last week, GM officially halted production of the vehicle and said it would take a $1.8 billion hit to expand the recall even further as they searched for an answer to the issue.
GM also opened an investigation into LG Chem to understand their processes with hopes of finding a cause for the defects.
“If we took the battery stock that’s in the field right now or at a warehouse, we’re not confident that it is defect-free," GM spokesman Dan Flores told the Detroit Free Press. "Because we are not confident that LG has the capability to build defect-free products, we’ve put the repairs on hold and we are not building new Bolts. We’re not going to start recall repairs or start building new Bolts until we’re confident LG will build defect-free products."
