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(Elbil24): After at least seven Chevrolet Bolt battery fires, the electric car that was sold as an Opel Ampera-e in Norway and the rest of Europe, the manufacturer General Motors made a drastic decision this summer about to replace the battery pack in all cars which was produced between 2017 and 2019.
In practice, this means all cars of the brand that roll on Norwegian roads. According to Opel Norway, there are over 4000 Opel Ampera-e and a few hundred Chevrolet Bolt.
If we add the 50,000 cars that were sold in the US during the period, as well as all that went to other markets, it is possibly about somewhere between 60,000 and 70,000 cars – all of which will get a new battery, and in fact with a slightly higher capacity than the original battery .
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For cars manufactured between 2020 and 2022, only defective battery modules will be replaced, according to General Motors. None of the newest cars have been sold in Norway, at least not through official channels.
Takes almost the entire bill
This is a very extensive and not least expensive operation, estimated at a total cost of around 2 billion US dollars (16.8 billion kroner).
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However, it is not General Motors that has produced the potentially flammable batteries, but Korean LG Energy Solutions. And now the cost distribution is finally ready.
In a announcement from General Motors it appears that they have agreed that the battery manufacturer will cover up to 1.9 billion dollars of the bill – ie around 16 billion kroner.
Thus, the situation looks significantly brighter for the car manufacturer, which thus escapes with “only” 800 million kroner.
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Is in progress
According to ArsTechnica The companies are already in the process of changing battery packs on the first cars, a job that takes an average of two working days per car, according to sources the website has been in contact with.
The new battery packs thus offer better capacity (about 8 percent). In addition, the battery warranty is reset at the same time, and applies for a new eight years.
When we spoke earlier this autumn with Opel’s information manager at Bertel O. Steen, Stein Pettersen, he said the following about the process here in Norway:
– There are over 4000 cars in question, so it will take some time. This has the highest priority with us, and owners are contacted when it is their turn. We have seen that some have speculated that the whole job will take two years, but that number definitely does not come from us. We must return to this as soon as we know more, he concluded.
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