Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (part of the Volkswagen Group) has halted production of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz model in Hanover, Germany.
The surprising news comes just a few weeks after production started on June 2, 2022. According to media reports from Germany, the company has a problem with batteries.
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (via Electrive) reports that the company noted quality problems with the batteries for the ID. Buzz. According to the article, there are some faulty cells/modules from a new supplier, which forced the stoppage of production - "for initially one week."
The unofficial info says that battery performance falls short of the target, including voltage drops, which affect range.
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is reportedly the only model that got the batteries from this particular new undisclosed supplier. There should be no issues with other MEB-based models, as they are equipped with batteries from other manufacturers.
“It is a new battery cell from a different supplier that is currently only used in the ID.Buzz,” the spokesperson said. “Therefore, only the production in Hanover is affected, but not other locations.”
The batteries from a new supplier were expected to be later used also in other MEB-based models. We guess that the issue might delay this plan.
On the other hand, having an MEB platform enables the German manufacturer to quickly switch to the proven batteries from current suppliers, as the modules are standardized.
Only some 500 Volkswagen ID. Buzz were produced so far, but none have been delivered to customers yet, which means that the quality problem can be solved in-house on a relatively small fleet.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles intends to produce up to 15,000 ID. Buzz this year, and up to 130,000 units annually after the ramp-up phase.
An interesting coincidence is that in a recent range tested, Bjørn Nyland had an issue with a battery module in a Volkswagen ID.5 GTX - it also has an 82 kWh battery, just like the ID. Buzz. Theoretically, it should not be related to the ID. Buzz.
Another unfortunate coincidence is that there are reports about problems also at the newly opened Tesla Giga Berlin-Brandenburg plant in Germany, which forced Tesla to stop customer deliveries.
