Battery shortage causes temporary suspension of Audi e-tron SUV

Battery shortage causes temporary suspension of Audi e-tron SUV

Audi has suspended production of the e-tron SUV to address various production issues including battery supply bottlenecks, which also highlights the difficulties that traditional automakers face in promoting electric vehicles and challenging Tesla.

Audi has suspended production of the e-tron SUV to address various production issues including battery supply bottlenecks, which also highlights the difficulties that traditional automakers face in promoting electric vehicles and challenging Tesla.
An Audi spokesman said Monday (February 24) that its plant in Brussels has ceased production on Thursday (February 20) and that the plant will remain idle until Tuesday (February 25). The spokesman said that Audi sold about 26,400 e-trons last year, but declined to comment on expected deliveries this year.
Audi is the largest profit contributor to Volkswagen Group, but its first pure electric car e-tron has a lot of fate. Since its launch in September 2018, e-tron has had to delay time to market. Due to a potential battery fire risk, Audi had to recall this pure electric model last summer, affecting as many as 7,000 vehicles in the global market.
Audi plans to launch an e-tron Sportback version this year-it looks more like a sports car, and the roof contours drop smoothly. In addition, the e-tron GT high-performance sedan is also expected to be released this year.
Former BMW executive Markus Duesmann will become Audi's CEO in April to accelerate restructuring and reshape the brand's technological advantages.
Last November, the company laid out a plan to lay off 15% of its employees in Germany by 2025 as part of an overall plan to increase its revenue by 6 billion euros.
The Belgian "L'Echo" previously reported that production of the e-tron in Brussels had been interrupted, and the battery supplier for this model was LG Chem. German media reports that Audi is facing a shortage of battery supplies at LG Chem's Polish plant.
The German "Handelsblatt" reported that Audi plans to produce 80,000 e-trons this year, but LG Chem has so far only promised battery capacity of 40,000; LG Chem is currently Audi's only battery supplier, but the The company is seeking other suppliers.
In addition to Audi, Jaguar Land Rover's electric vehicles have also been affected by a shortage of battery supplies. Jaguar Land Rover has reduced production of the Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV due to battery supply issues at LG Chem's Polish plant.
German media reported that Mercedes-Benz plans to reduce the production of EQC electric SUVs from 60,000 to 30,000 this year. However, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler denied the report, saying that the 2020 EQC production plan has not been modified.
Some automakers are trying to avoid such problems. Volkswagen spent about $ 50 billion to lock its battery supply chain for decades to come, and it signed agreements with three different battery suppliers to meet battery supply needs. Tesla reached an agreement with Panasonic a few years ago to jointly design and manufacture electric vehicle batteries at the company's Nevada super factory, and recently, it also signed a contract with LG Chem and Ningde Times to supply batteries to the Shanghai plant .