DETROIT — General Motors has extended downtime at its Chevrolet Bolt EV plant in Michigan and a Chevy Equinox plant in Mexico because of continued parts shortages, the automaker said Tuesday.
Bolt production at Orion Assembly in Orion Township, Mich., will remain down through Oct. 29 as a result of a battery pack shortage related to the Bolt recall. In August, GM recalled all Chevy Bolt EVs and EUVs for fire risk after calling back only early model-year Bolts last November. GM has confirmed at least 13 Bolt fires linked to battery defects.
During the extended downtime, GM will “continue to work with our supplier to accelerate production of new battery modules and prioritize recall repairs,” spokesman Dan Flores said in a statement. The plant has been down since Aug. 23.
GM began sending replacement modules to certain Chevy dealers this month, according to a customer memo obtained by Automotive News.
The battery module repairs will take about two days to complete, the memo said.
The recall is expected to cost as much as $2 billion, GM said. But battery supplier LG Electronics Inc. will shoulder the vast majority of the cost and expenses, the companies said Monday.
