GM extends Bolt EV plant shutdown amid recall and battery fires

DETROIT – General Motors is extending downtime at a Michigan plant that produces its Chevrolet Bolt EV as it works with battery supplier LG Chem to correct manufacturing flaws that are causing some cars to burn, resulting in a massive callback to fix the problem.

The Detroit automaker said Thursday that Orion Assembly would be down during the weeks of September 13 and 20. The plant has been closed since August 23 due to a battery shortage linked to the recall.

A GM spokesperson confirmed Thursday that officials continue to work with LG Chem to rectify the issues and increase production of the new modules.

Manufacturing issues occurred at LG Battery Solution factories in South Korea and Michigan. GM said the problems involved two “rare manufacturing flaws” – a torn anode tab and a bent separator – which, when present in the same battery cell, increase the risk of fire.

The automaker has confirmed fires in at least 12 vehicles. The automaker asked owners last month to change vehicle settings to reduce the risk of fire as part of the recall. One of the most recent fires allegedly took place last week involving a 2017 Bolt EV that was parked in Sacramento, California.

Last month, GM extended an initial recall of certain model years to all Bolt electric vehicles, including a larger version of the recently released car known as the Bolt EUV. The automaker expects to spend around $ 1.8 billion to replace potentially defective battery modules in vehicles.

GM said it was continuing LG Chem’s repayment commitments.

The additional downtime at Orion Assembly was included as part of a production update Thursday by GM regarding the continuing shortage of semiconductor chips. The shortage of parts has prompted automakers to sporadically cut vehicle production around the world throughout this year.

As part of the update, GM confirmed that production of its full-size pickup trucks will return to normal next week after a week of shutdown. It also extended previously announced downtime at plants in Michigan, Missouri and Mexico, while confirming plans to restart production at other facilities later this month.

GM expects the parts problem to reduce vehicle production in North America by about 100,000 vehicles in the second half of the year compared to the first six months. The company does not release production data, but it sold about 1.3 million vehicles in the first half of the year in North America.