Current:Home > reviewsChevrolet Bolt owners win $150 million settlement after electric vehicles caught fire -WealthGrow Network
Chevrolet Bolt owners win $150 million settlement after electric vehicles caught fire
PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-07 01:33:49
General Motors and LG are establishing a $150 million fund to compensate Chevrolet Bolt owners after a faulty battery caused some of the electric vehicles to burst into flames.
The $150 million is part of a legal settlement between GM and Bolt owners who filed a class-action suit against the Michigan automaker in 2020 for allegedly selling them a vehicle with a defective battery. Bolt owners who installed special software that GM offered to fix the battery issue can receive $1,400 from the fund, according to court documents filed late Thursday in Michigan. Bolt owners who sold their car before that date, or drivers who leased the Bolt before then, are eligible for a $700 payment, according to the documents.
"GM, LG Energy Solution and LG Electronics have agreed to a settlement with plaintiffs to resolve class-action litigation related to the Bolt EV battery recall," GM said in a statement on Friday. "As a result, Bolt owners who received a battery replacement or who have installed the latest advanced diagnostic software may qualify for compensation."
GM partnered with subsidiaries of South Korea-based electronics company LG to create the batteries used in the Bolt, which debuted in 2015. In the following years, drivers noticed their cars would spontaneously catch fire, leading to owners to file complaints about the problel with GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
GM traced the fires to a manufacturing defect in the battery modules, which the automaker said caused a short in the battery cell. Some of the incidents took place in Bolts with battery cells made in South Korea, while other fires came from cells made at a LG plant in Michigan. In 2021, GM recalled all Bolts worldwide.
GM sold just under 25,000 Bolts in the U.S. before telling dealers to stop selling them. The company ceased production of the vehicle in December of 2023, a major financial and reputational blow for GM as automakers raced to enter the electric vehicle market. The automaker has spent $1.8 billion recalling the Bolt because of its battery issues.
The Bolt was one of GM's first all-electric vehicles, second only to the Spark EV, which debuted in June 2013. Since then, GM has rolled out an electric Hummer, Chevrolet Silverado and Cadillac Lyriq.
GM has said it plans to stop manufacturing gas-powered cars by 2035 and will spend $35 billion to roll out more than 30 new EVs globally by 2025, including about 20 in North America. By the end of the decade, GM expects to generate $90 billion in additional annual revenue from EVs.
- In:
- GM
- Electric Vehicles
- Electric Cars
- Chevrolet
Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. He previously worked as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald, Newsday and the Florida Times-Union. His reporting primarily focuses on the U.S. housing market, the business of sports and bankruptcy.
TwitterveryGood! (8925)
Related
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Would Summer House's Lindsay Hubbard Ever Get Back With Carl Radke After Split? She Says...
- Chiefs want to be ‘world’s team’ by going global with star power and Super Bowl success
- Forever Missing Matthew Perry: Here Are the Best Chandler Bing Episodes of Friends
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Below Deck's Captain Jason Shares Update on 2 Fired Crewmembers After Sexual Misconduct Scandal
- Sheryl Crow's Sons Look All Grown Up During Rare Red Carpet Outing With Mom
- Early returns are in, and NBA's new and colorful in-season tournament is merely meh
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Californians bet farming agave for spirits holds key to weathering drought and groundwater limits
Ranking
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Is love in the air? Travis Kelce asked if he's in love with Taylor Swift. Here's what he said.
- This winning coach is worth the wait for USWNT, even if it puts Paris Olympics at risk
- Joey Votto out as Reds decline 2024 option on franchise icon's contract
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Afghan farmers lose income of more than $1 billion after the Taliban banned poppy cultivation
- US officials, lawmakers express support for extension of Africa trade program
- Deion Sanders explains staff shakeup after loss to Oregon State: `We just needed change'
Recommendation
Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
Offshore wind projects face economic storm. Cancellations jeopardize Biden clean energy goals
Leroy Stover, Birmingham’s first Black police officer, dies at 90
Proof Nick Carter’s Love of Fatherhood Is Larger Than Life
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
Usher mourns friend and drummer Aaron Spears, who died at 47: 'The joy in every room'
Kyle Richards Reveals Holidays Plans Amid Mauricio Umansky Separation
Tola sets NYC Marathon course record to win men’s race; Hellen Obiri of Kenya takes women’s title