General Motors (GM) will not restart production of the Chevy Bolt EV and Chevy Bolt EUV until it can verify the battery packs from supplier LG Chem are defect-free.
The automaker halted the production line at its Lake Orion Assembly plant in Michigan on August 23and intended to restart production of the Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV at the facility on September 13. GM spokesman Dan Flores said that the automaker will now keep the plant on hold until it can identify the source of the battery pack fires, which have forced the automaker to recall thousands of Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV models from the 2017 to 2022 model years. It has also temporarily laid off all workers at Orion Assembly for the time being as a result.Battery cells for the Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV are produced by LG Energy Solution Michigan Inc. at a facility in Holland, Michigan. The fires are believed to be caused when one of the battery’s cells has a torn anode tab and folded separator, although it’s not clear how this manufacturing defect comes to be during the production process.
