Toronto, Ontario — Taking more than a year of tensions surrounding the Chevrolet Bolt to new heights, a class action lawsuit has been levelled against General Motors alleging that the EV is unsafe due to its known fire risks.
David Kennedy v. General Motors Company et al., currently before California’s northern district court, refers to 2020-2022 Bolt EVs and 2022 Bolt EUVs (electric utility vehicles) and includes “All persons who purchased the class vehicles in the United States or, alternatively, the State of California, for personal use and not for resale during the time period of four years prior to the filing of the complaint through the date of the court’s approval of the class certification motion.”
Plaintiff David Kennedy is looking to be compensated for what he feels turned out to be a pretty raw deal.
Kennedy purchased a 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV in July for $31,995 and locking himself into a 35-month lease.
Only a month later GM announced the recall of the Bolt due to its fire risks. The OEM advised drivers to limit their charging to 90 percent capacity and avoid letting the charge fall below 70 miles.
The suit argues that, as a result of these measures, customers are not getting the vehicle they paid for.
“Defendant’s warning that consumers should not charge the vehicles past 90 percent drops the advertised mileage capacity from 259 to 233.10 miles. Taking into consideration that consumers cannot allow the miles remaining on the vehicle to fall below 70 miles, the battery range falls further to 163.10 miles—that is, 62.97 percent of the advertised mileage,” read part of the lawsuit.
Kennedy stated in the lawsuit that he has lost sleep over the anxiety he feels about driving a vehicle that has been proven to be a fire hazard. He is represented by Clarkson Law Firm, P.C.
In response to the recall, GM has said they will replace Bolt batteries as soon as replacements become available.
