That isn’t why the EV-1’s were taken back. They were not recalled. The people who wnet into that program never actually owned them, they were loaned to them with the expectation GM would take them back. People driving them begged to buy them when they were told GM was going to demolish them.
And they didn’t have the problems these newer cars have, they were using regular lead acid batteries and less technical, technology.
Everyone I have ever read about who participated in the EV-1 study really liked the cars and had overall very good things to say about them. They were pretty small for their time and perhaps GM didn’t think they’d sell because of that. Also given there wasn’t huge general popular demand for alternatives and even less charging stations around in case you did need a boost.
Perhaps it was a liability or product support issue. Only a limited number were built; if GM sold them they would be obligated to warranty them, offer parts and service. If someone were injured due to a design defect, GM could be liable. Beechcraft bought all of their "Starship" aircraft back and shredded them for the same reason(s).
“That isn’t why the EV-1’s were taken back. They were not recalled. The people who wnet into that program never actually owned them, they were loaned to them with the expectation GM would take them back. People driving them begged to buy them when they were told GM was going to demolish them.”
None of this is news to me...and why I referred to them as a ‘lease fleet’.
On to my hypothesis that GM crushed them all, before they caught fire...from wikipedia: “On March 2, 2000, GM issued a recall for 450 Gen I EV1s. The automaker had determined that a faulty charge port cable could eventually build up enough heat to catch on fire. Sixteen “thermal incidents” and at least one fire occurred as a result of the defect, destroying a car leased by Ron Brauer and Ruth Bygness as it was charging.”....seems to support my hypothesis, no matter what type of battery they had.
BTW, around a third of the EV-1’s did have nickel hydride batteries.