South Korean batteries are unreliable, GM announces recall and halts production, losses exceed 10 billion

According to foreign media reports, General Motors of the United States recently announced that due to the risk of fire in high-voltage batteries, the company will also include the 2019 to 2022 Bolt electric vehicles in the recall scope. The latest batch of recalled vehicles covers 73,000 Bolt models, and the related losses will exceed US$1 billion (approximately RMB 650 million).

General Motors said that after the recall, the company will stop producing the Bolt car indefinitely and will seek compensation from LG, which provides the corresponding batteries.

It is reported that after this recall, the battery module of the vehicle will be replaced, but other components such as the battery casing and junction box will be retained. Vehicles that receive battery replacement will receive an 8-year/100,000-mile battery warranty.

As early as last year, GM's Chevrolet Bolt EV electric vehicles frequently caught fire. In November last year, GM was forced to urgently lock the battery of the vehicle, and the Bolt car battery could only be charged to 90% at most. GM then updated the battery management system software for the Bolt EV produced from 2017 to 2019, but these measures failed to prevent the continued occurrence of fires.

Through investigation, General Motors found that some battery modules produced by LG factories in South Korea had two manufacturing defects: damage to the battery anode and wrinkles in the battery separator, which greatly increased the risk of battery fire.

In July this year, GM recalled 69,000 Bolt EV vehicles from the 2017 to 2019 model years. With the recall of another 73,000 Bolt EV electric vehicles, the total cost of GM in the United States is expected to reach US$1.8 billion (approximately RMB 11.68 billion).

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.