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Volkswagen Group Facing Big EV Recall

Volkswagen Group is looking at recalling up to 124,000 EVs and hybrids wearing VW, Audi, and Porsche nameplates. It’s not because of the cars, it’s because of their chargers.

It turns out that the charger supplied for the vehicles could contain cadmium.

Cadmium is a heavy metal. One that is toxic and an environmental hazard. It’s largely not permitted in auto parts, hence the reason for the concern.

Volkswagen reported to the Kraftfahrtbundesamt, the German motor transport authority, the discovery of the heavy metal in the high-voltage chargers. They were not supposed to contain the metal, but contain 0.008 grams per device.

In response, VW stopped production and delivery of the affected vehicles until an alternate part could be sourced, according to a report from German publication WirtschaftsWoche.

German officials are concerned with the environmental and health impacts of the chargers when the vehicles reach end of life. WirtschaftsWoche reports that Volkswagen shares the same concern, but feels that the chargers are not a danger to consumers. That’s because the affected component is “installed in a solid housing inside the charger, which in turn is enclosed by a solid housing,” and should not be accessible to the end user.

Volkswagen and the regulatory group have yet to announce an official recall.

[source: WirtschaftsWoche]

The post Volkswagen Group Facing Big EV Recall appeared first on VWVortex.



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