General Motors will reportedly no longer supply battery replacements for the all-electric version of the Chevy Spark, according to a report from EV source (through InsideEVs†The Chevy Spark (EV) electric vehicle was first released in 2013, and GM continued to make new models through 2016.
A GM district administrator confirmed that EV source that the company “will no longer supply that” [the Spark EV’s] battery.” GM’s inventory of Spark EV battery packs is also reportedly depleted, and the company has no plans to make any more. The edge reached out to GM with a request for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Now that the oldest model of the Spark EV is nearly 10 years old, car owners could be left without a working car if their battery fails. GM offers an eight-year / 100,000 miles Guarantee specific to the battery pack in its Spark EVs and other electric vehiclesmeaning the warranty has already expired (or is about to run out) for Spark EVs released in 2013 and 2014. It’s unclear if GM will continue to honor its warranty and somehow replace the battery pack in broken Sparks, or if EV source points out, if GM will offer to buy the vehicle back instead of replacing the battery.
Spark EV owners may not have the best luck finding an aftermarket battery pack, either. EV source notes that there really isn’t a market for Spark EV batteries compared to other EVs, as companies may not find value in supplying parts for a car that’s on the cheaper side (the base 2016 model sold at a suggested retail price of less than $26,000†In addition, GM only managed to sell about 7,400 Spark EVs – mainly in California, Oregon and Maryland – before the three-year term ended.
While GM is working to make and replace battery packs in more than 140,000 electric Chevy Bolts that were recalled last year due to fire risks, GM may simply not have the bandwidth to make battery replacements for the Spark EV. GM did not resume production of Bolt EVs until early April after a production shutdown of several months, and also recently announced its plans to stop the non-electric version of the Chevy Spark sometime this year.