Audi again has production problems at the e-tron plant in Brussels. Production stops. The reasons are the same as in January.
- Audi builds the e-tron electric SUV in Brussels, Belgium.
- Production has been running since 2019.
- Around 25,000 vehicles were built last year.
Brussels - Chasing Tesla is not going to be easy for German car makers. The model X competitor Audi e-tron is not running smoothly either. Audi's electric SUV started very promising: 20,000 customers had pre-ordered the e-tron without ever seeing the 408 hp Stromer, let alone driving it.
But then problems started: The first (voluntary) recalls of the Audi e-tron were made shortly after production started in 2019: fire hazard from the battery. Around 7,000 vehicles had to be recalled worldwide. "There could be a short circuit or, in extreme cases, a thermal event," said Audi . There were no known fires.
Audi e-tron: production problems already in January
The first problems with suppliers already occurred with the e-tron production in January. Components for the installation of the batteries were missing. As the trade magazine ecomento reported, citing the Belgian news agency Belga , Audi * consequently switched to short-time work in the Brussels plant and let the contracts of 145 employees expire.
Also interesting: Audi A4 Avant - the permanent all-rounder from Ingolstadt.
Audi e-tron: Delivery problems with battery cells
The belts in Brussels are now at a standstill, as an Audi manager confirmed to Manager Magazin . Production has stopped since Thursday and up to and including today. The reason is delivery problems with the battery cells. However, the supply bottlenecks are not related to the coronavirus *, emphasized the manager.
Audi e-tron 55 quattro
Audi buys its batteries (like Porsche and Mercedes also) from the Korean manufacturer LG Chem . The Ingolstadt-based company had planned to produce 80,000 e-trons by 2020. LG Chem has so far only been able to guarantee 40,000 batteries, reports the Handelsblatt . Now one hopes at Audi on the, also Korean, competitor of LG - Samsung . The globally known group is currently massively expanding its battery production capacity in Hungary.
Also read: The Trons: a clean family.
Audi e-tron in the test: finally electric
To the photo gallery
Arne Roller
* tz.de and merkur.de are part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
List of rubric lists: © AUDI AG
