GM Extends Shutdown Due to Bolt Battery Issues

(Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] General Motors (GM), the largest automaker in the United States, has extended the suspension of operations at its factory until mid-next month due to the recall situation of the electric vehicle Chevrolet Bolt, which recently experienced fire incidents.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 16th (local time), GM announced that the restart date for the Orion plant in Michigan, where the electric Bolt is produced, has been postponed from the originally scheduled date of the 24th of this month to mid-next month due to a shortage of battery packs.

This extension decision was directly caused by the large-scale recall due to fires in Bolt vehicles caused by battery defects.

Since 12 fire incidents occurred in the Bolt in August, GM has conducted a recall of 142,000 Bolt models sold since 2016. These models contain batteries manufactured by LG Energy Solution.

GM is investigating with LG Energy Solution to resolve manufacturing defects in the batteries that caused the vehicle fires.

Foreign media predict that the suspension of operations at GM's Orion plant will continue at least until the 15th of next month.

GM did not specify the exact date for resuming Bolt production but stated, "We will not resume production and sales until the investigation into the fire issue is completed."

GM explained, "We will continue to halt production and sales until we have confidence in battery performance and safety by supplementing suppliers and manufacturing processes."

According to a previous CNBC report, GM confirmed two manufacturing defects at LG Energy Solution's plants in Korea and Michigan: battery cell anode tab rupture and separator folding.

The cost estimated for replacing battery modules due to this incident is $1.8 billion, and GM plans to demand a significant portion of this cost from LG Energy Solution.

Earlier this month, GM began production cuts at six plants in North America due to the global semiconductor supply shortage. GM has not specified the restart dates for these six plants either.

As a result, production of Chevrolet Traverse, Equinox, Blazer, Buick Enclave, and GMC Terrain is expected to be affected.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.