Update: GM reached out to GM Authority after the publication of this article, stating that it will in fact continue to offer replacement battery packs for the Chevy Spark EV.
Owners of the Chevy Spark EV hatchback are no longer able to purchase a new replacement battery pack for the vehicle as of April 7th, 2022.
According to EV Resource, GM has decided to discontinue production of the replacement 18.4 kWh battery pack for the Spark EV. This is despite the fact that some Chevy Spark EV owners are still covered by the eight-year/100,000-mile warranty that came with the vehicle. Owners who experience a battery pack failure and are still covered by warranty will be offered a buyback from GM. EV Resource says some owners have received the full purchase price of the car back, although the amount of the buyback offer varies from state to state.
While owners of vehicles still under warranty will be covered, those who are not covered will have no way of repairing their vehicle if the lithium-ion battery fails. More popular EVs like the Nissan Leaf have decent aftermarket support for owners experiencing battery issues, but the Chevy Spark EV was produced in very low numbers and therefore has virtually non-existent aftermarket support. For this reason, it’s possible that some Spark EV owners will be left with an inoperable, unrepairable vehicle if they experience a battery failure.
The Chevy Spark EV, which was GM’s first all-electric passenger vehicle since the EV1, made its initial debut at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show and went on sale two years later as a 2014 model year product. It features a single, front axle-mounted electric motor rated at 130 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque and boasted an EPA estimated range of 82 miles when new. Pricing for the 1LT trim level in the introductory 2014 model year started at $26,685.
As we pointed out previously, a used Chevy Spark EV can be an enticing second-hand purchase, with some of these vehicles selling for well under $10,000. That said, it’s probably best to avoid this aging EV due to its now non-existent aftersales support. Most consumers in the market for an inexpensive, compact EV such as this would be better served by a used, first-generation Chevy Bolt EV.
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Comments
WHAT??? I thought the manufacturers had to provide parts for something like 15 years minimum. That kind of sucks.
But I believe the Spark EV was only sold in 2 or 3 states and it was low numbers. Take into account how many of them may have been wrecked/totaled and the number left is probably quite low.
Yes, it is a California compliance car. That is why they are buying them back. I have a Rav4EV that is also a CA Compliance Car. It is 9 years old but still has 80% battery capacity. BUT, it has a Tesla battery and motor.
GM is clearly not considering the optics of yet another gigantic fumble. They claim to be “committed to putting every driver in an electric vehicle on a scale previously unseen and bringing the world to an all-electric future.” Yet this is a perfect example of just how little support they will give EV owners and early adopters of their new EVs. As a current Spark EV owner and a former Bolt owner, this complete disregard for customers proves to me that my all-electric future will definitely not be in a GM car. Once again GM, you could have been best in class. Instead, as always, you’re best in screwing up.
Fortunately the coming recession will punish GM and its stupidity hard.
Can’t wait for Chapter 7.
The future is electric!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah about that……. Just ask the Tesla Roadster owners. Only 1 shop on the entire planet keeps those old EV’s on the road.
Meanwhile you can easily do an engine swap if the aftermarket ever fails to provide a replacement engine.
So the resale value of these is nothing? Good luck at trade-in time.
No EV: The majority of the Spark EV’s were very inexpensive leases. The one I got in 2015 was zero down and $255/month with tax. Not all, but most who got them also got the smoking good lease deals. Unfortunately, the resale in 2016 to 2019 was just not good at all, thus people buying them with lower miles used were getting fantastic deals (remember these were only produced from 2014 to 2016). And, with used car prices sky high now, people who purchased these used in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 could probably sell them for a profit now.
I’ll say it again. Do I agree with what GM is doing here? No. However, people are making a lot more out of this than they should.
A normal 2015 Spark would have been a much better deal.
I just ordered a 2022 Bolt. I fully expect GM to discontinue the Bolt in the next year or so. Am I worried, nope. I currently own a Volt. It has not been produced since 2019. I expect to keep the Bolt for a couple of years until the new crop of EVs comes along with more sensible pricing. Current sales philosophy seems to be to bring the high end vehicles out first and then produce a vehicle for the masses later. Not interested in spending 100k for a vehicle so I am quite willing to buy a car I expect to be discontinued in a short time. The Spark was truly a niche vehicle and while I have sympathy for Spark owners I expect after market companies will be able to provide batteries for the foreseeable future.
Hmm… I wonder companies like BatteryPlus.com could make a cheaper aftermarket replacement (even if there were very few EV Sparks made)?
Trouble is technology keeps re-inventing itself so fast, that’s one of the reasons I haven’t jumped on the EV Bandwagon (but with gas at over $4.70 a gallon where I live, it’s tempting!).
But at 63, I’m very happy with my little ‘obsolete’ Chevy Sonic 🙂
Way too soon to be discontinuing parts on that car. Minimum is a complete buy back. The little sh!t box was almost thirty grand! gm battery and EV history is really bad. Buy an EV at this stage of the game from gm and you might get bit.
I will never understand why so many people want to invest in a EV! I owned a prius for years until the battery failed and was unable to get a replacement! Ev are so much more expensive and then you have companies like GM providing no product support after 5 years! Not a good investment if you ask me! GM wants all of their sales to be EVs by 2030 good luck with that! That is a pipe dream that will never happen unless they can find enough suckers to by their unsupported products!
Mark s: It really doesn’t matter if it’s an EV or gas. Let’s take an example of some niche market car coming out (gas) and being sold for only 3 years with less than 20,000 in total. How many years do you think they would produce replacement parts for that car? Part of the reason why niche vehicles in the past would use engines/trans from GM or Ford was for (a) reliability and (b) for access to parts. If those cars needed work years later, it wasn’t normally the engine/trans that was the problem. It was the body and interiors.
GM isn’t doing this all the time like others are attempting to say. In fact, I can’t even recall another story like this one. Going forward, I certainly don’t expect GM to do this with any models (gas or EV) unless we are talking more than 15 years past the last production model of that car.
Whoa! Wait a second troll, what do you mean that you couldn’t get a replacement battery for your Prius? Anyone that owns a Prius knows that that comment is FUD. TOYOTA WANTS $3,600 for a battery but you could find 3rd party batteries much less expensive.
I read this only affects the 2014 model with the A123 batteries. 2015 on up with LG Chem cells it does not apply. So, would GM would support putting an LG Chem celled pack into a 2014 Spark?
I really hope that this is the case. I have a 2016, and I love it. I take great care of it, and people who see it are amazed at how clean and near-mint it is after six years. I plan on keeping it as long as possible, and would like a battery replacement option shiuld mine die, instead of having to junk it and create more waste.
” Owners who experience a battery pack failure and are still covered by warranty will be offered a buyback from GM. EV Resource says some owners have received the full purchase price of the car back. “
And those who are not take it up the poop chute. How lovely.