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- GM has told some Chevrolet Bolt EV owners to park their vehicles outside immediately after charging.
- The automaker said it had been "notified of two recent Chevrolet Bolt EV fire incidents."
- GM recalled more than 50,000 Bolt EVs in November after reports of battery fires.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
General Motors (GM) has told around 51,000 owners of previously recalled 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EVs to avoid parking them indoors or charging them unattended, after receiving reports that two caught fire in recent weeks.
The company updated a recall notice on Wednesday to ask affected owners "to park their vehicles outdoors immediately after charging and not leave their vehicles charging overnight" while it investigated "two recent Chevrolet Bolt EV fire incidents in vehicles that were remedied as part of the safety recall announced in November 2020."
One of the vehicles in question belongs to Rep. Timothy Briglin, a state lawmaker from Vermont, according to a local police report shared by EIN Presswire. Briglin's car caught fire on July 1 while charging on his driveway, the report said.
A GM spokesperson told CNBC that they were notified earlier this week of another fire involving a Bolt EV in New Jersey.
GM said it repaired both vehicles as part of its recall of more than 50,000 Bolt EVs in the US in November 2020. The company said in a recall report at the time that it was concerned that high voltage batteries produced at its Korea plant posed a fire risk.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal road safety watchdog, said that the affected vehicles' battery cell packs had the "potential to smoke and ignite internally" which could then "spread to the rest of the vehicle," per a statement Wednesday.
"General Motors has been notified of two recent Chevrolet Bolt EV fire incidents in vehicles that were remedied as part of the safety recall announced in November 2020," GM said in its notice. "Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking owners of 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EVs who were part of the recall population to park their vehicles outdoors immediately after charging and not leave their vehicles charging overnight while we investigate these incidents."
The automotive industry faces mounting concerns over the safety of electric vehicles as automakers rush to release new models. Hyundai recalled 82,000 EVs in February to replace their battery systems over fire safety concerns, Reuters reported. Earlier this month, a new Tesla Model S Plaid reportedly caught fire in Philadelphia while its owner was driving, a lawyer said.
GM did not immediately respond to Insider for comment.