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An employee at the VW plant in Wolfsburg installs cables on a hybrid Golf
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / picture alliance / dpa
Persistent problems in the chip supply and with further deliveries are forcing Volkswagen to temporarily stop orders for several models with hybrid drives.
This is based on information from dealer circles.
In addition, the “currently dramatic situation in the Ukraine” is mentioned – other car manufacturers also buy from there, for example for cables and cable systems.
On Wednesday, "all currently available" plug-in hybrid versions of the Golf, Tiguan, Passat, Arteon can be ordered by customers for the last time.
For these copies, however, delivery in the current year can no longer be guaranteed.
The group headquarters in Wolfsburg confirmed the step on Tuesday on request.
The interest in the combined electric and combustion vehicles is high - but the production possibilities cannot keep up with the order volume.
Customers have recently had to put up with very long waiting times.
In addition to the delivery failures, the uncertainty about future subsidies for hybrid cars after 2022 also plays a role.
Other car manufacturers also restricted ordering options - such as Mercedes-Benz for its E-Class sedan in Germany in February.
The VW dealer network says about the hybrid cars: "For the vehicles in question, it may be that at the time of delivery the vehicle no longer meets the then applicable requirements for the environmental bonus (including innovation bonus) or that no more funding or only a reduced one funding is granted.«
For the electric version of the smallest VW model, the E-Up, the Wolfsburg company had recently lifted an order freeze.
The car had been taken out of the range for a long time due to supply problems and high demand, but since March it has been available again from some dealers in an initially limited number.
VW stated that progress had been made in processing the orders that had accumulated over the past year and a half.
The E-Up should be able to be re-ordered “promptly”.
kig/dpa-AFX
