GM’s Chevy Bolt Heads to Scrapyard With Mixed Legacy

Now, the diminutive snub-nosed SUV is headed to the scrap heap.

The Detroit car company said Tuesday that it will phase out the Bolt—GM’s first mainstream EV—at the year’s end, concluding a choppy run marked by sluggish sales and costly recalls for battery fires.

GM is retiring the battery technology that powers the Bolt in favor of an in-house configuration that underpins a new crop of EVs now rolling out. GM executives have said the new technology is more efficient, provides longer driving ranges and will allow GM to turn a profit on the new models—unlike the Bolt, which has been a money loser.

The Bolt’s demise shows how auto makers are faced with adapting to fast-evolving battery advances, and underscores the potential pitfalls of moving to new technologies.

GM rolled out the model in fall 2016 as an early signal of the auto maker’s embrace of EVs, ahead of many other car companies and at a time when Tesla was fast rising. GM executives said they wanted to beat Tesla’s Model 3 to market, and expressed optimism that the Bolt could hold its own against the first high-volume car released by Elon Musk’s company.

But the Model 3 went on to trounce the Bolt in the sales charts. Later, a costly recall in 2021 to fix a defect linked to several Bolt vehicle fires became a distraction as GM’s Chief ExecutiveMary Barra was making the case to Wall Street that GM could overtake EV sales leader Tesla.

Still, the Bolt over the years has drawn a fervent, if small, fan base. Originally priced in the mid-$30,000s before a $7,500 federal tax credit, it was billed as the industry’s first relatively affordable EV that could travel a significant distance on a single charge, about 240 miles.

The EV earned critical praise and some high-profile endorsements. Motor Trend awarded it the magazine’s car-of-the-year honors for 2017. Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak took to social media in 2016 to say he was dumping his Tesla for a Bolt.

The Bolt went on sale several months ahead of the Model 3 compact sedan, which had roughly the same price and electric range. But Bolt lacked the cachet and sportiness of Tesla, dealers and analysts have said. In 2019, the Model 3 outsold the Bolt in the U.S. by about 10 to 1, according to data from research firm Wards Intelligence.

Reports of Bolt fires began popping up in 2020. GM eventually advised owners to keep their EVs parked outside and away from homes. In summer 2020, GM expanded an earlier recall to include all of the roughly 142,000 Bolts it had made since the car’s launch, and halted sales.

U.S. Bolt sales resumed last year and have accelerated, especially after GM cut the starting price by $6,000, to $25,600. This month, sales notched their third straight quarterly record.

GM and battery supplier LG Energy Solution pinned the cause on a manufacturing flaw at LG’s factories. The Korean company eventually agreed to reimburse GM for most of the $1.9 billion in recall costs.

Michael Lauer, a 73-year-old lawyer in Los Angeles, is on his second Bolt, a 2019 model with 85,000 miles on it. He likes the deceivingly roomy cabin, low-maintenance expenses and low price tag.

When he heard GM would be ending production, he started searching online to buy a second one.

“I like showing off the Bolt and telling people, ‘Look, you can drive this electric car and afford it,’" he said.

Bolt owners still will be able to get parts and service from Chevy dealers after production ends, GM said.

The Bolt’s phaseout will remove one of the least expensive EVs on the U.S. market at a time when affordable options are lacking. According to research firm J.D. Power, in March the average EV in the U.S. sold for around $56,000, roughly double the Bolt’s starting price.

GM has plans for several EVs that move down the price curve. A $30,000 Chevy Equinox electric SUV due out this fall should fill the void for entry-level buyers, GM executives have said.

“We have progressed so far that it’s now time to plan to end" Bolt production, Ms. Barra said on GM’s earnings call Tuesday.

The suburban Detroit factory where the car is assembled is scheduled for a $4 billion overhaul to build EV pickup trucks, the company said.