Cupra Born owners left without cars amid battery material shortage

Owners of Cupra Born EVs who responded to a artillery work run person been near without their cars aft the shaper ran retired of the worldly that’s required to seal their artillery cases.

Cupra issued the bulletin successful July past twelvemonth successful effect to concerns astir the information of batteries fitted to Borns.

Having opened the cases and checked the components, store unit person been incapable to reseal them, owing to a shortage of the specified thermal paste, which is made successful war-torn Ukraine.

This has resulted successful dozens of cars being stranded astatine Cupra dealerships awaiting completion of the remedial work, and different Volkswagen Group cars could perchance beryllium affected. Jerry Hawkins, who lives successful Cornwall, is 1 of the owners affected by the delays.

“I bought my Born caller successful September 2022 and received the run announcement past October,” helium said. “I took the car to my dealer, who discovered determination were issues with the artillery modules.

“They said they lacked suitably qualified technicians to implicit the enactment truthful sent my car to a main artillery centre successful Southampton for it to beryllium done.

“However, aft this store replaced the modules, they told maine supplies of the paste that’s required to seal the artillery lawsuit – which is made successful Ukraine – had tally retired and they didn’t cognize erstwhile much would arrive. They couldn’t usage different product, they said, without invalidating the warranty.

“As a result, since October I’ve been successful a succession of courtesy cars provided archetypal by my trader and presently by the VW Group.” Also affected has been EV Experts, an autarkic trader based successful Guildford.

Co-founder Estelle Miller told Autocar that 1 of its Born banal vehicles, besides recalled arsenic portion of the work campaign, had lone conscionable returned from repairs aft being stranded for 7 weeks awaiting artillery lawsuit sealant.

“The store told maine it had 16 different Borns awaiting sealant, truthful I conjecture I should consciousness fortunate we got ours back,” she said.

A Cupra spokesperson said: “It’s close that determination are present delays successful sourcing the thermal paste required to implicit the work run owed to proviso concatenation challenges successful Ukraine, but it isn’t imaginable to supply a solution date, owed to the uncertainty of the situation.

“Cupra UK is moving with suppliers and constituent manufacturers to physique resilience and minimise lawsuit impact, and each effort is being made to expedite a solution for the customer.”

The Born’s sister electric car, the Volkswagen ID 3, is the taxable of a akin work campaign, and the German marque has admitted that it’s successful a akin predicament.

A spokesperson said: “We’re presently experiencing immoderate delays successful sourcing thermal paste. However, we’re moving with suppliers to minimise immoderate interaction connected customers.

“We’re expecting this run to reason successful the caller twelvemonth but volition proceed to show the proviso situation.” Autocar hasn’t been contacted by immoderate ID 3 owners complaining of instrumentality delays.

Matt Cleevely of Cleevely EV, an autarkic store successful Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said owners of Borns and ID 3s being affected by the delays are victims of “bad management”.

“Dealers volition person to usage the authorised sealant arsenic agreed with the Volkswagen Group’s suppliers. However, the information is that immoderate easy obtainable, high-quality thermal paste specified arsenic we usage is perfectly adequate,” helium said.

“This isn’t an EV occupation but a atrocious absorption problem.”