VW Battery Recall Reaches 85,402 EVs Worldwide — and a German Court May Let Buyers Return Them

Volkswagen Group’s high-voltage battery recall has reached 85,402 electric vehicles worldwide, with Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron models now added to the affected list. The Audi action covers 12,734 vehicles in total, including 9,048 in the United States: 7,040 Q4 e-tron and 2,008 Q4 Sportback e-tron models from 2024–2025, filed with NHTSA on October 21 under campaign 26V698. The initial U.S. recall, filed October 23, covered 22,524 ID.4 SUVs from model years 2023–2026. In Europe, Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority has issued three separate recalls covering 72,668 vehicles worldwide, including 9,881 in Germany, across the ID.3, ID.4, ID.7, ID.Buzz and Cupra Born ranges built between 2022 and 2025.

The defect family is the same across the badges: certain battery cells supplied by SK Battery Manufacturing in Komarom, Hungary, may not meet required production quality standards, and under certain charging conditions — particularly above 80% state of charge — they carry an elevated risk of thermal propagation, the chain reaction that turns one overheated cell into a battery fire. The root cause remains under investigation and no permanent remedy has been published, so owners are advised to limit charging to 80% until inspected. Audi expects to send interim safety letters on December 18, 2026. Audi estimates only about 0.1% of its recalled population — roughly 10 vehicles — may contain the defect, and it has reported no confirmed Q4 e-tron fires, crashes or injuries tied to this specific issue; the recall is preventive, driven by thermal events in other Volkswagen Group vehicles.

The new legal twist comes from Germany. The Offenburg Regional Court, hearing a case over a Cupra Born affected by the March 2026 battery recall campaign 93S4 — covering almost 100,000 Volkswagen Group vehicles, including 74,579 ID-range cars and 19,452 Cupra Borns, where modules may lose range, trigger a warning light and carry a fire risk — gave a preliminary assessment citing Article 37 of EU Regulation 2023/988, the EU Product Safety Regulation in force since December 13, 2024. The plaintiff seeks to rescind the purchase, and the court’s order is not a judgment: defendants have until November 6, 2026, to respond, and whether the regulation applies in this case remains to be clarified. The consumer firm handling the case points to two first-instance rulings for buyers over Mercedes EQA and EQB battery issues. If Offenburg issues a corresponding judgment, it could give affected EV buyers an additional return path beyond the recall itself.