Volkswagen plans to temporarily halt ID.4 production at its Chattanooga, TN, plant following a nationwide recall involving nearly 100,000 models. According to a VW statement, roughly 200 workers will be furloughed at the plant.
Volkswagen will halt ID.4 production in TN temporarily
The first ID.4 rolled off the assembly line at VW’s Chattanooga, TN, plant in July 2022. At the time, Volkswagen said it was looking to hire 1,000 new workers to ramp up production.
A little over two years later, Volkswagen is temporarily suspending production with a recall potentially impacting around 100,000 ID.4 models nationwide.
Volkswagen said in a statement that the temporary ID.4 production halt will result in about 200 workers at the Chattanooga plant being furloughed. The company plans to support the workers with supplemented state unemployment and 80% of their base compensation during the furlough, which starts on September 23.
The company explained, “While we address the issue, we are focused on doing right by our employees, dealers, and consumers through this disruption.”
According to Volkswagen, the production halt could last until the beginning of next year as it works to resolve the issue.
Volkswagen ID.4 production at Chattanooga, TN (Source: VW)
Volkswagen is working with dealers to find a quick fix. The recall, which was reported earlier this month, could potentially impact 98,806 ID.4 models in the US due to malfunctioning door handles.
The company’s letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated the door handles could allow water to enter the circuit board assembly, which may lead to the doors opening unexpectedly.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4 (Source: VW)
VW dealers will inspect the vehicle, replace the parts, and update the software if necessary. The service will be free of charge.
Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on November 1, 2024. If you have questions, you can contact VW’s customer service at 1-800-8930-5298. Volkswagen’s number for the recall is 57J9. Vehicles previously repaired (23V-312 and 23V-213) will still need the new remedy.
2024 Volkswagen ID.4 (Source: Volkswagen US Media Site)
Volkswagen said the disruption “In no way changes our commitment to the ID.4 and our growing BEV portfolio.”
The company added that the ID.4 “remains one of America’s bestselling electric vehicles.” In the second quarter, Volkswagen sold 5,690 ID.4 models in the US, down 15% YOY. VW ID.4 sales fell 28% in the first half of 2024, with 11,857 models sold in the US, down from 16,448 last year.
Volkswagen ID.4 production at Chattanooga, TN (Source: VW)
Volkswagen is also set to begin contract negotiations with the UAW on Thursday as President Shawn Fain rallied employees at the Chattanooga facility this week. “Are you ready to move another mountain?” Fain asked the 400 workers who attended the event.
Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant employs around 5,500 workers. Fain is calling for workers to “earn a record contract and make history again.”
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021.
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Block jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.
The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee, which connect fintech platforms to users’ bank data.
In a note to clients on Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said the potential new expenses were “far from a ‘business model-breaking’ cost increase.”
In addition to Block’s rise, PayPal climbed 3.5% on Monday after sliding Friday. Robinhood and Shift4 recorded modest gains.
Broader market momentum helped fuel some of the rebound. The Nasdaq closed at a record, and crypto rallied, with bitcoin climbing past $123,000. Ether, solana, and other altcoins also gained.
Evercore ISI’s analysts said that even if JPMorgan’s changes were implemented, the most immediate effect would be a slight bump in the cost of one-time account setups — perhaps 50 to 60 cents.
Morgan Stanley echoed that view, writing that any impact would be “negligible,” especially for large fintechs that rely more on debit, credit, or stored balances than bank account pulls for transactions.
PayPal doesn’t anticipate much short-term impact, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private financial matters, noted that PayPal relies on aggregators primarily for account verification and already has long-term pricing contracts in place.
While smaller fintechs that depend heavily on automated clearing house (ACH) rails or Open Banking frameworks for onboarding and compliance may face real pressure if the fees take effect, analysts said the larger platforms are largely insulated.
The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.
China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting
More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.
While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.
In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.
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Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.
North America is stuck in the slow lane
Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.
Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.
And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.
Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.
Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”
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Lucid’s electric sedan can drive further, charge faster, and packs more advanced tech than most of the competition. That might explain why it’s leading the segment. The Lucid Air remained the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US after widening its lead in the Q2.
The Lucid Air is America’s best-selling luxury EV sedan
The 2025 Lucid Air Pure arrived as the “World’s most efficient car” with an EPA-estimated range of 420 miles and a record 146 MPGe.
It just set a new Guinness World Record last week for the longest journey by an electric car after travelling 749 miles (1,205 km) on a single charge.
That record was set in the range-topping Lucid Air Grand Touring model, which is rated for up to 512 miles of EPA-estimated range. On the WLTP scale, it’s rated at 597 miles (960 km). Either way, it still crushed the estimates.
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According to second-quarter sales data, released by Kelley Blue Book on Monday, the Lucid Air is still America’s best-selling luxury EV.
Lucid sold 2,630 Air models in Q2, up 10% from the previous year. Through the first half of 2025, Lucid Air sales are up 17% with 5,094 units sold.
Lucid Air (Source: Lucid)
Tesla, on the other hand, only sold 1,435 Model Ss during the quarter, 71% fewer than it did in Q2 2024. Tesla Model S sales in the US are down 70% through the first half of the year at 2,715.
Although Porsche Taycan sales were up 32% with 1,064 models sold, the significantly upgraded 2025 model year was expected to see even more demand. Porsche has 2,083 Taycans in the US this year, up just 1% from 2024.
Lucid Air Pure interior (Source: Lucid)
Other luxury EV sedans, such as the BMW i5 (1,434), i7 (820), and the Mercedes EQS (498), experienced steep double-digit sales declines year-over-year.
And it’s not just electric luxury sedans. The Lucid Air is currently outselling many gas-powered vehicles in its segment.
Lucid Air (left) and Gravity (right) Source: Lucid
Lucid’s first electric SUV, the Gravity, is also rolling out. Although only five were sold in the second quarter, Lucid is quickly scaling production. Lucid aims to produce 20,000 vehicles this year, more than double the roughly 9,000 it built in 2024.
Earlier today, Lucid’s interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, confirmed during an interview with Bloomberg that the company expects higher Gravity output in the second half of the year.
The interview was at the grand opening of Panasonic’s new battery cell plant in De Soto, Kansas. Winterhoff said Lucid will start using new cells from the facility, but not until next year.
Lucid’s CEO stressed the importance of establishing a local supply chain, as policy changes under the Trump Administration are taking effect. Lucid and Panasonic are collaborating to localize EV materials, such as graphite. Last month, Lucid secured a multi-year supply agreement with Graphite One for US-sourced Graphite.
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