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Chevrolet Bolt owners win $150 million settlement after electric vehicles caught fire
General Motors and LG are establishing a $150 million fund to compensate Chevrolet Bolt owners after a faulty battery caused some of the electric vehicles to burst into flames.
The $150 million is part of a legal settlement between GM and Bolt owners who filed a class-action suit against the Michigan automaker in 2020 for allegedly selling them a vehicle with a defective battery. Bolt owners who installed special software that GM offered to fix the battery issue can receive $1,400 from the fund, according to court documents filed late Thursday in Michigan. Bolt owners who sold their car before that date, or drivers who leased the Bolt before then, are eligible for a $700 payment, according to the documents.
“GM, LG Energy Solution and LG Electronics have agreed to a settlement with plaintiffs to resolve class-action litigation related to the Bolt EV battery recall,” GM said in a statement on Friday. “As a result, Bolt owners who received a battery replacement or who have installed the latest advanced diagnostic software may qualify for compensation.”
GM partnered with subsidiaries of South Korea-based electronics company LG to create the batteries used in the Bolt, which debuted in 2015. In the following years, drivers noticed their cars would spontaneously catch fire, leading to owners to file complaints about the problel with GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
GM traced the fires to a manufacturing defect in the battery modules, which the automaker said caused a short in the battery cell. Some of the incidents took place in Bolts with battery cells made in South Korea, while other fires came from cells made at a LG plant in Michigan. In 2021, GM recalled all Bolts worldwide.
GM sold just under 25,000 Bolts in the U.S. before telling dealers to stop selling them. The company ceased production of the vehicle in December of 2023, a major financial and reputational blow for GM as automakers raced to enter the electric vehicle market. The automaker has spent $1.8 billion recalling the Bolt because of its battery issues.
The Bolt was one of GM’s first all-electric vehicles, second only to the Spark EV, which debuted in June 2013. Since then, GM has rolled out an electric Hummer, Chevrolet Silverado and Cadillac Lyriq.
GM has said it plans to stop manufacturing gas-powered cars by 2035 and will spend $35 billion to roll out more than 30 new EVs globally by 2025, including about 20 in North America. By the end of the decade, GM expects to generate $90 billion in additional annual revenue from EVs.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
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Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.