Audi E-Tron SUV Delayed Yet Again Due to Battery Supply Woes: Report
Audi’s battery supplier is one of the largest in the industry, and with higher demand comes higher pricing.
With big-name brands kicking off electric car production, even the largest of automakers will experience their own issues with cutting teeth during the early stages of manufacturing. Audi, despite its size, is no exception. According to the Brussels Times, the Germans will delay their all-electric E-Tron SUV due to a surprisingly simple reason: Audi is having trouble finding batteries for its cars.
Sources familiar with the matter tell the Brussels Times that Audi has delayed the delivery window of the E-Tron by two months, increasing the wait time for the vehicle to six to seven months. Additionally, the same source says that Audi will delay its upcoming E-Tron Sportback until at least 2020.
While Audi reportedly would not comment on the delay to the Times in any official capacity, sources established that the unofficial reasoning for the delay was due to the automaker having difficulty sourcing batteries for its vehicles. Presently, Audi purchases its batteries from LG Chem, but because of its position as a leader in the emerging EV battery market, LG Chem has reportedly increased prices to meet the uptick of demand across manufacturers.
In addition to Volkswagen and its subsidiaries, LG Chem also manufactures batteries for BMW, Geely, Fisker, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault, and Volvo.
Furthermore, Audi's electric motors are being delivered slower than originally anticipated. This particular problem has been blamed on a recent strike at the automaker's plant in Hungary where the plant is operating at about 75 percent capacity due to reduced daily output hours and its transition towards a four-day work week.
With both the battery shortage and reduced volume, Audi has reportedly decreased its manufacturing capacity estimation by more than 10,000 units during the first year of production.