By Kalea Hall
DETROIT, Sept 29 (Reuters) – General Motors is building about 75% fewer Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles than had originally been planned before federal support for EVs was yanked last year, a union official said.
The Kansas City-area plant where the Bolt is made is now on pace to make about 35,000 of the small SUVs in total before production of the vehicle ends in the first quarter of next year, said Dontay Wilson, president of the United Auto Workers local chapter that represents factory workers.
The plant originally had been on track to make around 150,000 Bolts by then, Wilson told Reuters Monday. The union’s estimate is based on the daily volume of vehicle production at the plant, and not a number provided by GM, he said.
In a statement, the Detroit automaker declined to comment on Bolt production. “We continuously evaluate market dynamics and customer demand,” it said.
The curbed output reflects how automakers have scaled back EV plans after several policy moves by the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers to withdraw federal subsidies for battery-powered cars. EV sales fell sharply following the removal of a $7,500 tax credit for EV buyers in September 2025.
LIMITED-RUN MODEL
GM sold an earlier version of the Bolt from 2016 to 2023. It has touted the new model, which went on sale early this year at a starting price of $27,600, as an affordable option in a market full of pricey EVs.
The Detroit automaker sold 4,224 Bolts this year through August. The company has said it will be a “limited run” model, but has not said when it will be discontinued.
GM still makes about a dozen EVs but has retooled some plants to make gas-engine models instead. The automaker has recorded $10.9 billion in EV-related charges since the second quarter of 2025, joining other companies in walking back big investments in electrics.
NEW VEHICLES COMING FOR KANSAS PLANT
A run of about 35,000 Bolts would be relatively small compared with other popular EVs on the U.S. market. Tesla sells about that many Model Y SUVs in a quarter. Ford sold 51,620 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs last year.
The lower-than-expected production of the Bolt delayed the hiring back of a second work shift at the Kansas City-area factory, according to a memo to workers from a GM plant director and viewed by Reuters. There are nearly 1,000 employees on indefinite layoff, Wilson said.
The plant is in line for more work, though, with GM’s plans to begin production next year of the gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox, which now is built in Mexico. GM is also shifting production of the Buick Envision SUV from China to the factory.
(Reporting by Kalea Hall in Detroit; editing by Mike Colias and Stephen Coates)
