If you've been paying attention to the EV industry, you know that Chevrolet has issued a recall for the Bolt EV This is the third Volt recall in recent months, all related to a string of battery fires

The larger point is that this recall is much more comprehensive than the last two While the previous recalls covered a handful of Volt models, this time Chevrolet has announced a recall of all Volts and Volt EUVs And that is arguably the worst thing that is happening to the electric car industry right now [The Bolt EV recall website clearly states that the recall is due to the use of defective lithium-ion battery models As a result, Chevrolet and parent company General Motors plan to replace the lithium-ion batteries and notify customers when they can return their vehicles for repair

In the meantime, Chevrolet is asking users to be more careful with charging Similar to the second recall last month, Volt owners are being warned to park their vehicles outdoors after charging and not to leave them charging inside overnight Likewise, they are told not to charge their cars above 90% using the Hilltop Reserve mode (2017-1028 models) or Targeted Charge Level (2019-2022 models)

The last piece of advice is that Volt owners should charge their cars more frequently and, whenever possible, not drain the battery to less than 70 miles of range

It does not look good that a car company's path to electrification, especially one as high-profile as Chevrolet, should have to issue such strict instructions on how drivers should charge their cars This whole situation is the perfect storm of problems and could seriously affect people's confidence in EVs

After all, despite the advances of the past decade, electric vehicles are still heretics Sales may be growing, and they may always be popular, but battery problems serious enough to warrant such vigilance will only shake people's faith in the future of EVs

Indeed, gasoline is also extremely volatile and flammable, but one never hears of such vehicles spontaneously combusting And at the very least, gasoline fires are much easier to extinguish than lithium-ion battery fires That does not mean, however, that firefighters cannot respond to EV battery fires, as we learned after a fatal Tesla accident near Houston, Texas, earlier this year

Still, there have been reports of fires lasting several hours and requiring thousands of gallons of water to extinguish permanently When these stories are coupled with reports of massive battery failures, it may be enough to make those on the fence about choosing an electric vehicle think twice

In the worst-case scenario, the frenzy of fear and EV skepticism would give anti-EV hardliners even more material to attack electric vehicles and the ongoing electrification of the auto industry Even more so if the volt batteries ignite and cause deaths

Thankfully, it has been proven for several years that electric cars work and are quite safe to drive around on huge lithium-ion batteries The recall is the result of what Chevrolet claims is the negligence of its battery supplier, LG, which appears to have been overly cautious

Apparently, the defective batteries were initially thought to be limited to one LG Chem plant in Ochange, South Korea However, the company was forced to expand its investigation when a fire broke out in a 2019 model Volt, which had not been included in previous recalls; batteries manufactured at other LG plants were found to have the same problem

Without knowing exactly which Volt models were affected, Chevrolet apparently had no choice but to recall all cars just in case A very reasonable decision, considering that the longer the problem persists, the worse the situation becomes Recalling all Volts is not a good thing for Chevrolet and GM, but it is the best option that can be done now

Even the $2 billion cost of the Volt recall is nothing compared to the negative publicity that would result if Chevrolet turned a blind eye and let the problem go unchecked In particular, ensuring that each and every one of Bolt's batteries is safe is also making it far less likely that someone will be injured or killed in a fire caused by a defective battery It would make a bad situation immeasurably worse

"We are working with our suppliers and manufacturing teams to determine how to maximize battery production capacity to replace modules due to the recall," GM spokesman Dan Flores wrote to CNBC after the July recall 'These teams are working around the clock to address this issue'

So don't let this situation discourage you from buying an electric car While you may not want to go out and buy a Volt or Volt EUV right away, there is no shortage of safe electric vehicle options