Audi E-Tron Delayed As EVs Suffer From Global Supply Issues
Audi’s first electric sport utility vehicle, the much-touted E-Tron, will arrive at dealerships a month later than anticipated. According to the automaker, a software development issue has stymied the rollout.
While nothing has reportedly busted, Audi claims it needs to obtain the necessary regulatory clearances for some ones and zeros that were modified during the development process. Normally, we would assume the applicable agencies would have been informed of this in advance, but we don’t know what Audi changed. All the manufacturer admits to is that alterations were made to benefit the customer.
German outlet Bild am Sonntag claims things were a little more complicated, however. In addition to speculating that the delay could actually stretch out for several months, the publication claimed Audi had issues with its battery supplier, LG Chem. The South-Korean supplier is rumored to have raised its battery prices by 10 percent due to swelling demand — threatening a supplier bottleneck for all of Volkswagen Group’s electric vehicles.
“We [typically] do not comment on topics such as price negotiations with suppliers,” an Audi spokesman told the outlet in German.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise for those keeping tabs on electric cars. While automakers have been bullish in their promotion of EVs, they know that demand will likely remain relatively low over the next few years. Still, that hasn’t stopped them from suffering from supply issues.
Practically every manufacturer selling a battery-electric vehicle has hit a snag. Last year, Hyundai encountered unanticipated demand for the Ioniq EV and was unable to cope while Tesla’s Model 3 struggled to hit production targets in 2018 — due to inadequate tooling at its own battery plant. Meanwhile, Buick said it was forced to delay the launch of the Velite EV in China in late summer due to an issue with its battery supplier.
[Images: Audi]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I've never believed the FUD vaporware announcements of the German brands. They are so far behind (not just Tesla but also Renault/Nissan, GM and even Jaguar) they don't even know what they don't know. Like the fact Tesla consumed half the world's supply of 18650 cells even before the model 3, and if you haven't made supply chain arrangements like the gigafactory, you’re not even an also-ran.
At least Sergio had the gnocchi to just say "please don't buy a 500e, we lose money on those."