Chevy Blazer Troubles Add to GM’s EV Growing Pains

livemint.com:

As one of the nation’s first owners of General Motors’ new electric Chevrolet Blazer, James Hattin was loving the SUV—before the problems began. On a trip from the mountains back to his home in Burbank, Calif., he and his wife heard weird clicking noises coming from the dashboard. A short time later, the cruise control went out.

A few days after that, in his driveway, the car’s screens went blank and the car wouldn’t start. “My dad always told me not to buy the first model year of a new car," said Hattin, a 53-year-old owner of a visual-effects company. “And I bought literally one of the first ones, which is the least smart thing to do." GM instructed Chevrolet dealers late last month to stop selling the Blazer, while it sought to address certain software-quality issues that have frustrated buyers and auto reviewers alike.

The company hasn’t given a time frame for when it might have a fix and continues to build them at its plant in Mexico, a spokesman said. The Blazer’s turbulent rollout is the latest setback as Chief Executive Mary Barra tries to establish the company as an EV player and close the gap on Tesla. It also illustrates the wider challenges many car companies face in mastering the fickle battery systems and sophisticated software needed for electric cars.

Among its global rivals, GM made one of the earliest and most-definitive moves toward electric cars. In early 2020, it outlined plans for a new battery system, called Ultium, which the company has said will serve as the backbone for EV models of various shapes and sizes. But in recent years it has encountered manufacturing delays and other technical obstacles as it has introduced its first Ultium-based models, including the GMC Hummer pickup truck and SUV