Gordon Chevrolet in Garden City delivered its first 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV to a customer last week after an eight-month dry spell.
The Bolt had a stop-sale on it as part of a global recall GM made last summer due to defective batteries that posed a fire risk. GM stopped building new Bolts late last year to focus on fixing the batteries in 2017-22 model vehicles in that recall.
But now that GM has the fix under control and enough new batteries to also restart production, there is pent-up consumer demand, said Gordon Stewart, owner of Gordon Chevrolet. Car buyers are especially interested in the SUV styling of the Bolt called the EUV.
“Were going to be fine once they get production volume up,” Stewart said. “I dont know if the Bolt is as well-known as we wish it was. People have to see them on the road, so they have to build up the desire. But its going to be a fine car.”
GM recognizes the task it faces to transition the long-idled Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township where GM builds the Bolt to full-out production as well as to get the EV back in the car buyer’s psyche after the widely publicized recall that affected 140,000 Bolts worldwide.
So starting Thursday, GM will launch an aggressive ad campaign for the Bolt during all Major League Baseball broadcasts. After that, look for ads across “various media properties” throughout the year as Chevrolet plans to set a production and sales record that tops 24,000 Bolts this year, said Steve Majoros, Chevrolet’s marketing director.
“Were coming strong with this product,” Majoros said. “This may shape up to be the number two product as far as the amount of spend that we put nationally behind our products this calendar year.
Surpassing record
GM restarted Bolt production on Monday at Orion Assembly and has about 800 Bolts built that are being shipped to dealers for sale, Majoros said.
Our goal is to get back to and, quite frankly, increase all of our business metrics whether thats production, whether thats retail sales,” Majoros said. “We all see whats happening in the marketplace and we think both Bolt EV and Bolt EUV can catapult to their highest levels ever in both production and sales.
The most Bolts Chevrolet ever sold in one year was 24,000 and Chevrolet will surpass that pretty significantly,” said Chevrolet spokesman Kevin Kelly.
But it comes down to how quickly GM can ramp up production, Majoros said, noting that there are complexities in the supply chain as well as shipping.
“Well see how it shapes up,” Majoros said. “Lets treat April as a transitionary month.
He said Chevrolet had about 6,700 Bolts in dealer inventory prior to the stop-sale last year. Chevrolet has not shipped the replacement batteries to all 6,700 yet, Majoros said. It is making sure first to take care of the recalled vehicles, using excess capacity for startup production at Orion and then dealer inventory.
‘Return to commerce’
GM had stopped building the vehicles so that it could focus on fixing defective batteries which could pose a fire risk with its battery supplier LG Electronics Inc. LG has said it would reimburse GM for $1.9 billion in costs associated with the Bolt recall for making defective battery modules.
There have been 18 suspected battery fires in Bolt EVs globally. GM has confirmed 15 of them; none involved major injuries.
Kelly declined to say how many of the 140,000 recalled Bolts have received the fix which is new battery modules. He also declined to disclose how many of the Bolts GM repurchased during the recall.
But those who own 2017-18 model year Bolts will get an extra 20 miles of range with the battery fix and an extended warranty, Majoros said.
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Majoros said GM has an ample supply of new batteries and has performed enough fixes on the recalled vehicles to start building new Bolts while fixing Bolts that are part of the recall.
“It’s about concurrent activity of our replacement of the battery packs in the situation we’re all well aware of, in addition to what’s called a return to commerce,” Majoros said. “It’s a big thing for our customers, it’s a big thing for our dealers, a big thing for Chevrolet and General Motors. But again it’s a bit of a transitionary period in April and we’ll see how things unfold.”
High gas, low car prices
Orion is presently building 2022 model year Bolts, Majoros said. It will start production of the 2023 model year later this summer.
Chevrolet leaders predict a record number of Bolt sales and production in 2022 “and more in 2023” in part due to higher gas prices and a growing interest in EVs among the public.
At Matick Chevrolet in Redford Township, demand for the Bolt has not surfaced yet, said Paul Zimmermann, vice president and co-owner.
It is a niche vehicle but demand for it increases parallel to gas prices, Zimmermann said. The gas spike is out there that no amount of marketing can outpace. So Im optimistic because of that.”
The Bolt EV is also holding its pricing lower than some other EVs on the market. The 2022 Bolt EV starts at $31,500 and the EUV at $33,500. By comparison the starting price of Tesla Model 3 is $46,990. The 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E starts at $43,895.
The two ads
The ad campaign that starts Thursday will feature two 30-second spots intended to use humor to showcase the Bolt’s range and ease of use.
One ad called “Mom” features a Bolt driver taking a phone call from his mom while driving and listening to her go on and on … just like the Bolt’s range. The Bolt can travel up to 259 miles on a full charge.
The second spot is called “Life Changes.” It features a technician showing an expectant mother how to use her home charger on her Bolt. When the expectant mother says she hopes being a mom is that easy, the female technician laughs as to offer comfort and then says, “It’s not.”
Chevrolet will cover the cost of standard installation of Level 2 charging capability for eligible customers who buy or lease a 2022 Bolt EUV or Bolt EV, Majoros said.
Chevrolet has partnered with home EV-charger installation company Qmerit to give Bolt owners access to faster charging at their homes, a significant savings given that installation of a Level 2 charger could cost up to $2,000, according to Realtor.com.
Majoros said GM did the right thing by halting Bolt production to work on the battery fix.
“It allowed us to put all of our energy into the limited battery supply we had at the time also to ramp that battery production, along with our partners, up,” Majoros said. “It’s been a Herculean task in the entire organization to put us in the position where we are today.”
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.