Volkswagen Group has widened an electric-vehicle battery recall to include Audi, taking the global total to 85,402 vehicles. Owners of the affected cars are being advised to limit charging to 80 per cent.
https://robotbelt.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/15_0-3.pngThe expansion
According to the German federal motor transport authority KBA database, the group added the Audi recall record on 27 October. The addition covers 12,734 Audi Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron vehicles, including 9,048 model year 2024 and 2025 cars in the United States.
Volkswagen had previously filed a recall report with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covering 22,524 ID.4 electric SUVs from model years 2023 to 2026. Combined with earlier KBA disclosures, the group had recalled 72,668 electric vehicles worldwide, including 9,881 in Germany. Those vehicles include ID. Buzz, ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7 units built between 2022 and 2025, and Cupra Born cars built between 2022 and 2024.
The failure mode
The recall addresses a risk of overheating and fire under specific conditions. In its safety recall report to NHTSA, Volkswagen said a particular charging curve combined with a state of charge above 80 per cent carries a risk of triggering thermal propagation. The root cause has not yet been identified.
Audi said its product safety committee opened an internal investigation after learning of battery thermal incidents in other group electric vehicles using the same battery, and found that the affected vehicles share battery and production characteristics, most of them built for the North American market. Audi said it has not identified any claims, crashes, fires, injuries or deaths linked to the Q4 E-Tron battery issue.
The remedy so far
Until a fix is available, Audi is advising owners to limit charging to 80 per cent. US owners can obtain a battery diagnostic check at an authorised Audi dealer, and where necessary the dealer will apply the 80 per cent limit as an interim measure. Audi plans to mail an interim safety risk notification to owners on 18 December 2026, with a follow-up letter once the remedy is settled.
Audi’s recall number is 93SK and the NHTSA campaign number is 26V698.
What it means for the group
The recall spans four brands and a five-year production window, which points to a cell-level characteristic rather than an assembly fault at a single plant. That distinction matters for cost. A process defect is contained by fixing a line. A cell characteristic is contained only by limiting how the pack is used, which is why the interim remedy is a charging instruction rather than a part.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Gasgoo report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://auto.gasgoo.com/news/202610/29I70476233C108.shtml.