Volkswagen is recalling 72,668 electric cars worldwide over battery cells that may not meet specifications, and will cap affected cars at 80% charge until there's a fix. The figures come from Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), which lists three separate recalls covering certain ID.3, ID.4, ID.7 and ID. Buzz models built from 2022 to 2025, plus Cupra Born cars from 2022 to 2024, Electrek and electrive reported on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. 9,881 of the cars are in Germany.
What's wrong
- Supplier cells: an internal VW investigation found some cells from that period don't meet specifications because of supplier manufacturing errors.
- Fire risk: VW says "certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge over 80% may trigger thermal propagation," per Electrek.
- No incidents so far: the KBA says there have been no reports of property damage or injuries, electrive reports. Škoda models are reportedly not affected.
What owners should do
Until a permanent repair is ready, VW asks owners to charge to no more than 80%, and says the limit will be applied by the car's system where technically possible, via an over-the-air update. The permanent fix hasn't been finalized; Handelsblatt reports workshops will inspect the high-voltage battery or individual modules, according to electrive. The KBA recall codes are 93MV, 93MF and 93W4 (Cupra Born).
The U.S. picture
Separately, VW has a U.S. recall of 22,524 ID.4 SUVs from model years 2023 to 2026 (NHTSA campaign 26V630), with SK Battery America named as the cell supplier. VW told U.S. owners that unless they opted out by Oct. 21, it would remotely limit charging to 80%, with the change showing in the app on or about Oct. 27, 2026. Owner letters are due by Nov. 27, 2026, Electrek reports.
For another over-the-air recall this week, see Tesla's European Model 3 airbag recall. More on battery makers: CATL's Q3 profit miss.