Audi has reportedly reduced its planned production for the e-tron electric SUV due to a battery shortage, according to a report coming out of Belgium, where the vehicle is being produced.
The e-tron is being produced at Audi’s Brussel factory.
L’ Echo, a Belgian newspaper, reports that it obtained internal documents that showed the German automaker originally planned to produce 55,830 e-tron SUVs in 2019.
They now claim that Audi had to revise the production down to 45,242 units.
The publication states that it’s the new planned capacity due to battery supply limitations from LG, but they mentioned that it could also be revised due to demand.
A factory insider reportedly told L’Echo:
“There are tons of problems with LG, who supplies the battery cells.”
According to the report, the actual production capacity at the factory is on track.
They are currently producing 160 e-tron SUVs per day and they plan to able to produce 293 units per day by the end of September.
Employees are currently working only 6 hours per day, but Audi reportedly plans to go back to 8-hours days with only 4 work days per week.
The battery shortage is also reportedly resulting in a delay of the Sportback version of the e-tron, which was supposed to enter production this year, but the publication claims that it has been delayed to next year.
The e-tron is now being delivered across most European markets and the first deliveries of the electric SUV in the US are expected next month.
Electrek’s Take
To be honest, I think 45,000 units for the first year of production is excellent. I would have put the demand for the Audi e-tron at a max of 50,000 units per year.
However, it’s still a bummer that battery cell supply is limiting electric vehicle production.
Tesla is apparently in the same boat with Model 3, according to Elon Musk.
It will be interesting to track the production of the e-tron in the next few months with the launch of the electric SUV in the US.
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