General Motors (GM) has announced plans to halt production of its electric Chevrolet Bolt models by the end of this year.
This comes as the company looks to shift its focus to newer electric vehicles like the GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq, which use GM’s Ultium architecture.
The battery cells used in the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV are of an older design and chemistry than the newer electric vehicles.
A suburban Detroit plant that has been producing Chevy Bolts since 2016 will be retooled in preparation for production of electric Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks scheduled for next year.
Despite record production and sales of the Bolt for mass-market consumers, the Bolt never caught on as well as executives had hoped, and the vehicle suffered a major setback as GM recalled all of the Bolts ever produced due to a supplier-related battery issue that caused several fires.
GM aims to produce more than 70,000 Bolt models this year, as it targets selling over 400,000 EVs from early 2022 through mid-next year in North America. GM has set a target to reach production capacity of 1 million EVs annually in the US and in China, each, as it attempts to catch up to industry leader Tesla.
General Motors sold over 60,000 vehicles in U.S. during first quarter of 2023
General Motors to discontinue production of the Chevrolet Camaro in 2024
