(Reuters) – General Motors Co on Wednesday said it will sharply cut prices on its electric Chevrolet Bolt after the Detroit automaker had halted sales for six months following a battery recall.
GM is cutting prices on the Bolt by around $6,000 and by as much as 18% for the lowest-price version, which will start at $26,595, down from $32,495. The Bolt EUV will start at $28,195 down from $35,695.
“This change reflects our ongoing desire to make sure Bolt EV/EUV are competitive in the marketplace,” GM said in a statement, adding “affordability has always been a priority for these vehicles.”
The pricing change was reported earlier by the Verge.
GM said it plans to build more Bolt EVs and EUVs this year than in any other year since it launched in 2016. Bolt sales in 2021 hit a high of 24,828 vehicles.
GM resumed Bolt production in April following a major battery recall in August and began resuming sales earlier this year.
The company in August widened a recall of the Bolt to more than 140,000 vehicles to replace battery modules after a series of fires in parked vehicles, and halted production and retail sales.
GM said in August it had recalled all Bolt vehicles built since it began production.
In April, GM launched an advertising campaign for the Bolt to win back consumers following the expensive recall that had stopped production.
In February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) closed an investigation into the Bolt fires “in view of the recall actions being taken by General Motors” and after reviewed reports of 24 Bolt fires.
GM sold just 358 Bolt vehicles in the United States in the first three months of 2022, down from 9,025 in the same period in 2021, and 99 Hummer EV pickups.
The company has been lobbying Congress to extend a $7,500 tax credit for EV purchases. Both GM and Tesla previously hit a 200,000 cumulative EV sales cap and no longer qualify for the credit unlike other automakers.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
