GM to Offer Free Loaner Cars to Volt Owners

General Motors says it will offer free loaner cars to Chevrolet Volt owners if they’re concerned about the cars catching fire.

The move comes after last week’s announcement that the government is investigating fires involving the Volt’s lithium-ion batteries.

The company says it will contact the owners to reassure them that the cars are safe. But it’s making the offer to make sure Volt owners don’t lose confidence in the cars.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a Volt battery pack that was being monitored after a crash test caught fire on Thursday. The agency says another battery that recently was crash-tested gave off smoke and sparks.

The latest fires are in addition to a battery fire in a crash-tested Volt six months ago.