Volkswagen recalls 70,000 EVs worldwide due to faulty batteries

Volkswagen has issued a recall for nearly 72,700 electric vehicles due to faulty batteries, according to data from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) published on Tuesday, reported dpa.

Some 10,000 vehicles, largely from Volkswagen's ID line, are affected in Germany alone.

It became known last week that Volkswagen was preparing a recall, after internal quality checks found that individual high-voltage battery cells in certain ID family vehicles do not meet quality requirements. The cause is production defects at suppliers, affecting a limited production period, according to Volkswagen.

"In rare cases, this can lead to increased thermal stress on these batteries; in extreme cases, a fire could break out," the company said last week.

Models affected include the ID.3, ID.4, ID.7 and ID.Buzz from certain production periods between 2022 and 2025, as well as the Cupra Born built by Spanish subsidiary Cupra between 2022 and 2024.

Affected customers will receive a letter, the company said.

As an immediate measure, Volkswagen is limiting charging of the affected vehicles to a maximum of 80% for safety reasons, until the car is checked by a workshop. The affected battery modules might not necessarily have to be replaced, as a software update might be enough, according to Volkswagen.

This is not the company's first recall this year over battery problems: In March, Volkswagen and Cupra had already called in more than 90,000 cars worldwide for the same reason - 28,000 of them in Germany.

At the end of September, the carmaker also called in just over 5 million cars worldwide to workshops over a corrosion-prone screw on the steering system.