German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) has to recall almost 100,000 electric vehicles worldwide due to faulty batteries.
The recall concerns VW’s own ID models manufactured between June 2023 and August 2024 (ID.3, ID.4, ID.5, and ID.Buzz) as well as Cupra Born made between February 2022 and April 2024 by VW’s Spanish subsidiary Seat Cupra.
Altogether the recall concerns 75,000 VW cars worldwide (of which 22,000 are in Germany) and 24,500 Seat models (of which 6,000 are in Germany).
While the recall notices were already published by Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) in its public database on March 13 and March 18, they were only picked up by German media on March 24.
According to KBA, the high-voltage batteries used in the affected cars may be faulty, affecting the cars’ range, leading to overheating of the battery and potentially even causing fires.
A Volkswagen spokesman told newspaper Bild on March 24 that the defect was due to suboptimal processing of the batteries, adding: “The batteries in question were supplied by a foreign supplier. The manufacturing defect was identified by our quality control team.”
Owners of the affected models are told to contact their local dealership to have the car’s software updated and – if necessary – individual battery modules replaced.
The recall is the second such incident this year alone, albeit on a much larger scale. In January, VW had to recall more than 300 of its ID.7 models for similar battery issues including the risk of fires.
The shift toward battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) remains a key pillar of Volkswagen’s transformation plans.
The battery-powered vehicles, though, generate notably smaller profit margins for Germany’s biggest carmaker compared to their classic combustion-engine siblings.
In December 2025, Volkswagen sales chief Martin Sander told magazine Automotive News that the group hoped to close the gap with its upcoming small-size BEV models ID.Polo and ID.Cross.
Sander added: “We strongly believe that the future is electric. But when it comes to the time frame for reaching margin parity, I can’t give a date yet.”
Volkswagen is in dire straits currently. In March 2026, the group posted dismal results for the 2025 fiscal year.
