CNN BUSINESS | GM’s Chevy Bolt recall comes with a huge price tag

New York (CNN Business)General Motors’ very expensive Chevy Bolt recall highlights one big risk of building electric vehicles.

GM (GM) is preparing to spend $800 million to fix — or possibly replace — the batteries in nearly 70,000 Bolts due to a fire risk. That comes out to about $11,650 per vehicle, making it one of the most expensive recalls ever on a per-car basis.

Meanwhile, Hyundai (HYMTF) is spending $874 million to replace the batteries in 82,000 of its own EVs (also for a fire risk, though these are different battery models. That comes to just under $11,000 per vehicle.)

These costs are staggering — and exponentially higher than the average price tag of an auto recall over the last 10 years, which was only about $500 per vehicle, according to Mike Held, director of the automotive and industrial practice at consulting firm AlixPartners.  —read more—