Volkswagen has just announced the discontinuation of production of the ID. Buzz, its electric combi, at the Hanover site in Germany. The reason ? The manufacturer encounters several problems with the vehicle’s batteries, including faulty cells. For the moment, the date of resumption of production has not been revealed.
Volkswagen has just announced very bad news for customers who were waiting for this 100% electric redesign of the cult combi of the 1950s. Indeed, the German manufacturer has just confirmed the end of production of the ID. Buzz, its new electric combi, at the Hanover site.
An astonishing decision, which comes just a few weeks after the van went into production on June 2, 2022. According to German automotive media, the company encounters several problems with the batteries of the ID. Buzzincluding defective cells.
As a result, the batteries offer performance below the manufacturer’s expectations. voltage drops recurring problems identified by the manufacturer’s technical teams significantly affect the vehicle’s range. Initially, production was to be suspended for a week, but eventually she is arrested until an indefinite date.
Volkswagen suspends production of the ID. Buzz from the batteries
According to our colleagues from the InsideEVs site, the ID. Buzz is the only model of the brand that embeds the batteries of this new supplier. Note that the manufacturer did not specify the identity of this company. According to Volkswagen, nothing to worry about for other models based on the MEB platform, since they are equipped with batteries from other manufacturers.
“This is a new battery cell from a different vendor that is currently only used in the ID. buzz. Therefore, only the production in Hannover is affected, but not the other sites”, assured a Volkswagen spokesperson.
For now, only 500 IDs. Buzz were produced. None of them were delivered. In fact, Volkswagen has free rein to solve these problems internally on this rather small fleet. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that the manufacturer has displayed certain ambitions with the ID. buzz. Indeed, the German brand intends to manufacture no less than 15,000 copies in 2022, before reaching its cruising speed of 130,000 units per year. Difficult to know if this battery problem will or will not jeopardize Volkswagen’s sales and production objectives.
As a reminder, Volkswagen has already been forced in the past to stop production of its electric vehicles, in particular due to the shortage of semiconductors. The manufacture of ID.3 and ID.4 was temporarily stopped in November 2021 due to supply concerns.
Source : InsideEVs
