General Motors production shutdown of Chevy Bolt and EUV has started back in August 2021. Now the automaker announced that the shutdown will extend till February 2022. As per the announcement, GM is focused on battery making and other repairs.
GM spokesman Dan Flores announced the update. Flores stated, “GM has notified employees at Orion Assembly the plant will extend downtime through February 2022 to continue prioritizing recall repairs. We will continue to inform employees at the appropriate time of any additional production schedule adjustments as we continue to focus on battery module replacements,”
The Bolt EV and EUV have proven quite troublesome for GM. Following several battery fires involving the vehicle, GM opted to perform a recall of the all-electric car. This recall was extended to include all 140,000 Bolts that have been sold to date, and the Lake Orion plant has remained largely closed as a result.
The Lake Orion plant reopened on November 1, but it only kept its doors opened for about two weeks, as noted in a GM Authority report. The plant’s restart date has since been moved several times, from early December to late January 2022 and now to late February 2022. Battery pack production of the Bolt EV and EUV, on the other hand, restarted in mid-September.
While the Chevy Bolt’s production remains halted, GM has started the production and deliveries of its next all-electric vehicle, the hulking Hummer EV pickup truck. GM has noted that it is only getting started, however, as the company also announced plans to release an all-electric Silverado from its Chevrolet brand, an electric Denali from its GMC brand, and the LYRIQ crossover from its Cadillac brand, to name a few.
Chip crisis
In addition to the issues with Chevy Bolt, there is also an ongoing chip crisis. Automakers all over the world are facing issues. Interestingly recently the US president Joe Biden gave credit to General Motors CEO Mary Barra for electrifying the automotive industry. The statement was criticized strongly especially as GM’s EVs were not on any best-selling list. Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model 3 and Model Y have been in the news multiple times.
Also, Barra said a counter towards Tesla’s Elon Musk in reference to EV incentive being inclined to benefit General Motors. Her counter-statement was that General Motors makes many affordable EVs. However on the contrary GM still has gas-powered vehicles. It was pointed out by many how GM doesn’t have hybrid models, while other automakers at least had hybrid vehicles.
The Chevy booth here (ghost town) at the LA Auto Show has 0 EVs. I don't even think there is a hybrid here. No Silverado, no Bolt/EUV, nothing. Only chargers are iPhone chargers.
This is where companies like GM show their future.
So must for "All in on Electric" ? pic.twitter.com/ZVcjkOOeUv
— Seth Weintraub (@llsethj) November 18, 2021
