Volkswagen has issued a stop-sale and stop-production order for the ID.4, its electric SUV, while it sorts out an issue with the door handles.
The automaker’s actions come after it recalled nearly 100,000 of the EVs due to an issue that can cause the doors to open unexpectedly. The impacted vehicles include 2021-2024 models made at VW’s manufacturing facilities in Germany and Tennessee.
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In a statement obtained by Green Car Reports, Volkswagen spokesperson Mark Gillies said his company is temporarily suspending production at the Volkswagen Chattanooga plant. During the work stoppage, he said approximately 200 employees will be furloughed beginning today, but VW will supplement unemployment from the state of Tennessee so workers still receive 80% of their base compensation and still receive current benefits. The company is also looking for ways to do right by dealers it searches for a fix.
Gillies said, “This disruption in no way changes our commitment to the ID.4 and our growing BEV portfolio. The ID.4 remains one of America’s best-selling electric vehicles.”
Last month, VW released sales figures for the first half of 2024. The company has so far sold 4.35 million vehicles this year, slightly behind the 4.4 million it sold in the first half of 2023. Of that total, about 317,000 were battery electric vehicles, slightly fewer than the nearly 323,000 EVs it sold in the first half of last year. But the new stop in production and sales for the ID.4 could put the company even further behind last year’s pace.
As for the recalled vehicles, the primary issue stems from door handles that can’t keep out water. VW believes only about 1% of the recalled vehicles have the defect. But the ones that do could see water short out a circuit board and cause communication problems between the handle and the door control unit. That miscommunication could lead to the vehicle accidentally unlocking the door and cause a clicking sound similar to what the vehicle does when the doors are unlocked normally.
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