Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) has resumed manufacturing of the ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo at its main plant in Hanover, Germany.
Production of the electric vans had been suspended in late June after Volkswagen discovered quality problems with the batteries. As the automaker estimated initially, the production pause lasted for a week. The EVs started rolling off the assembly line again on July 4, a VW representative told Automobilwoche.
"Production of the ID Buzz at the VWN plant in Hanover has restarted as scheduled on 4 July 2022."
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles spokesperson
The representative added that the problem has been identified and fixed, with new batteries that fully meet VWCV's quality standards now being delivered to the plant.
According to local publication Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung cited by Electrive, production was suspended because some of the cell modules did not deliver the required performance. This resulted in voltage drops, which reduce the vehicle's driving range and may also have a negative impact on its lifespan.
The battery cells were shipped by a new supplier, and that explains why only the Hanover plant was affected and not other facilities that build MEB-based electric vehicles. Volkswagen told Automobilwoche that the problem with the batteries, discovered during internal tests, was due to "adjustments in the supplier's production." The problem has since been solved.
Since production of the ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo started in Hanover in early June, around 500 electric vans have been produced, but they have yet to be delivered to customers. The vehicles produced so far were reportedly intended as demonstration cars for dealers and test cars.
These units are currently being checked to see if they are affected by the battery issue, so that their batteries can be replaced if necessary.
The week of downtime has cost Volkswagen the production of 200 ID. Buzz vehicles, according to the report. The company says the lost production can be recovered "without any problems" and expects to return to the production capacity before the interruption over the course of this week.
So far, VW had been building around 45 ID. Buzz vehicles a day, but the automaker plans to increase daily production to 180 units by the end of the year. Despite the production setback, Volkswagen maintains its target to start European ID. Buzz deliveries in October.
