Every day there's updated news about Volkswagen's EV production delays in Germany. Now, while the company said it's set to restart production next week, slightly ahead of schedule, it will have to delay the ID.5 electric vehicle for at least a month.
Talk about a developing story. We told you a month ago, back in late February 2022, that the global automaker paused production, pointing to "Ukraine supply chain issues" as a reason for halting production in Germany. Less than a month later, on March 21, 2022, the automotive group reiterated that production in Germany was still paused. It also noted that it planned to extend the shutdown.
Just days later, VW announced that it will be resuming production at its German electric cars facilities beginning next week. We guessed that perhaps the brand's special task force has successfully figured out the supply chain logistics related to the situation in Ukraine. In addition, it was also reported that Leoni, a major supplier of wiring harnesses based out of Ukraine, shared that it's back to ramping up production amid the conflict.
Now, we learn from Automotive News that while VW will be restarting production, it will have to delay the launch of its ID.5 due to a lack of wiring harnesses. It appears as though its Ukraine-based supplier can ramp back up to help get production restarted, though it's likely it can't crank out enough parts for VW to launch the ID.5 in addition to supplying its current EVs.
Automotive News notes that the brand can't yet produce enough ID.5 EVs to get models to dealers for use as display and demo cars. The information came directly from a letter Volkswagen sent to its dealers, which was shared by Automobilwoche.
VW has set May 6, 2022, as the ID.5's new launch date. However, it will only move forward with the new date if it can provide the necessary vehicles to its dealers.
