GM cuts Chevrolet Bolt EV production run as U.S. demand weakens

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GM cuts Bolt EV production

Highlights

Chevrolet Bolt production at GM's Kansas City-area plant will total about 35,000 units before discontinuation in Q1 2026, down from a 150,000-unit target.
GM incurs $10.9 billion in EV-related charges since Q2 2025 while significantly scaling down EV investments and shifting some production to gasoline-powered vehicles.
Indefinite layoffs affect nearly 1,000 workers and delay a second shift at the plant, with future Equinox and Envision production planned to offset losses.

Bolt output drops as model nears end

As reported by Reuters, United Auto Workers local president Dontay Wilson said the factory making the Bolt is now on track to assemble about 35,000 of the small electric SUVs in total before the vehicle is discontinued in the first quarter of next year.

Wilson said the plant had originally been on pace to build around 150,000 Bolts by that point. He said the union’s estimate is based on daily production volumes at the factory rather than a figure provided by GM.

In a statement, GM declines to comment directly on Bolt production and says it continuously evaluates market dynamics and customer demand. The automaker has described the Bolt as a limited-run model, but has not said exactly when it will be phased out.

GM sold an earlier version of the Bolt from 2016 to 2023 and launched the new model early this year with a starting price of $27,600. Through August, the company sells 4,224 Bolts this year.

Policy shifts reshape EV plans and plant staffing

The lower production level reflects a broader pullback in electric-vehicle plans across the auto sector after the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers moved to withdraw federal subsidies for battery-powered cars. EV sales fall sharply after a $7,500 tax credit for buyers is removed in September 2025.

GM still produces about a dozen EV models, but it has also retooled some factories to build gasoline-powered vehicles instead. The company records $10.9 billion in EV-related charges since the second quarter of 2025, joining other automakers in scaling back major investments in the segment.

A production run of roughly 35,000 Bolts is small compared with other EVs in the U.S. market. Tesla sells about that many Model Y SUVs in a single quarter, while Ford sold 51,620 Mustang Mach-E SUVs last year.

The weaker-than-expected Bolt output delays the return of a second shift at the Kansas City-area plant, according to a memo from a GM plant director that Reuters reviews. Wilson says nearly 1,000 employees are on indefinite layoff, although the factory is set to receive additional work from GM’s planned shift of Chevrolet Equinox production from Mexico and Buick Envision production from China.

Our earlier article on revised U.S. CAFE fuel-economy standards explained how looser efficiency rules under the Trump administration could give Detroit automakers near-term regulatory relief and support margins. We also noted that investors may remain wary about long-term growth, as softer rules can reduce pressure to accelerate investment in cleaner technologies and leave U.S. manufacturers less competitive as global demand trends toward more efficient and electric vehicles.

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