General Motors makes a big deal out of the Ultium battery technology underpinning its new and upcoming electric vehicles like the Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer EV and the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup. But the GM EV that’s a hit with customers right now is, ironically, the Bolt, a model that was first introduced back in 2016 and that doesn’t use the new Ultium battery packs GM boasts about in its newer models.
As electric cars go, the Bolt is getting old. In fact, the Bolt has bounced back in a big way from a major crisis last year, when GM had to halt production because of an issue that could lead to battery fires in some cases. Customers were also warned to treat their battery packs gently and to avoid charging their cars indoors until the issue was resolved. CNN Business even questioned, earlier this year, whether GM might be about to “pull the plug on the Bolt.”
Then, in April, with the battery issue resolved, and gas prices coincidentally spiking, GM restarted Bolt production. Sales took off like a Corvette Z06 in Launch Mode. The Bolt EV and its new, more SUV-like sibling the Bolt EUV had record sales in the third quarter of the year with 14,000 being delivered to customers. Sales have come back so strongly, in fact, that GM now plans to increase production from 44,000 Bolts this year to 70,000 next year.
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