Volkswagen’s latest recall now extends to Audi, affecting more than 9,000 Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron vehicles. And just like with the ID.4, owners are being told to limit charging to 80% of the battery’s capacity.
📌 The Core Development
Earlier this month, Volkswagen issued a recall impacting 22,524 ID.4 electric SUVs, model years 2023 to 2026.
The recall is due to the risk of thermal propagation, or a battery fire, under certain conditions when charged to over 80% of its limit.
🔍 Background & Sector Context
Volkswagen said in a safety recall report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that “certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge over 80% may trigger thermal propagation.”
While the root cause is unknown, Volkswagen urged owners to limit charging to 80%. Owners of affected vehicles received an email saying VW “intends to apply a temporary vehicle setting that limits charging to 80%,” unless they opted out by October 21.
📊 Industry & Real-World Impact
In the letter sent to the NHTSA on October 23, Volkswagen Group of America said it was issuing a recall affecting 9,048 Audi Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron vehicles model years 2024 to 2025.
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🔮 Strategic Outlook & What Lies Ahead
The safety recall follows Audi’s Product Safety Committee being informed of battery thermal events involving other Volkswagen Group EVs that use the same batteries as the Audi Q4 E-Tron.
Following an internal investigation, Audi found the same battery and production characteristics as the impacted VW Group vehicles. Audi said the majority of these were produced for the North American market.
