General Motors Co.
GM,
said it plans to start fixing some Chevrolet Bolt electric cars that were recalled for fire risk in mid-October, although many owners are likely to wait months to receive the remedy.
GM said Monday that it will start shipping new battery cells to dealerships by as early as mid-next month to begin replacing potentially faulty battery modules. GM and supplier LG Energy Solution have identified and fixed a manufacturing defect and LG recently resumed production of cells at a factory in Michigan.
In late August, GM expanded the previous recall for fire risk in older Bolts to include all of the roughly 142,000 models produced since the car went on sale in late 2016, at a cost of $1.8 billion, one of the costliest safety actions in its history. GM said Monday it is aware of 13 fires linked to what it has described as a defect in some battery cells.
GM’s recall of the Chevy Bolt—its only electric model sold in the U.S.—has in recent months overshadowed GM’s strategy to make a big push into battery-powered vehicles and close the gap on leader Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
In the coming years, GM plans to introduce a few dozen models, including a GMC pickup truck later this year and a new Cadillac
CDC,
SUV by next summer.
An expanded version of this story appears on WSJ.com.
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