Audi cuts German production, freezes orders for plug-hybrids

BERLIN -- A dearth of supply from the Ukraine of wire harnesses, a key component for vehicle manufacturing, will lead to production cuts at Volkswagen Group's Audi division.

Production of A4 and A5 models at Audi's home plant in Ingolstadt, Germany, will be suspended from March 7-11. In Neckarsulm, production of A6 and A7 models will be paused from March 7-18.

Further output cuts are likely to follow, Audi said in emailed comments on Thursday.

• Click here for an overview of how the Ukraine crisis is impacting the auto industry.

Audi has imposed an order freeze for its hybrid models because of production interruptions, an Audi spokesman told Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche.

"Due to high demand as well as some restrictions caused by the supply situation, the production volume is currently already exhausted for the Audi PHEV models for 2022," the Audi spokesman said.

Automakers are struggling to obtain crucial wire harnesses -- used to organize miles of cables inside vehicles -- as suppliers in western Ukraine have been shuttered by the Russian invasion, forcing them to curtail production.

Audi's sibling VW Group brands Porsche and VW are reducing production in Germany as parts supplies from Ukraine dry up.

BMW Group is halting production at plants in Munich and in Dingolfing, both Germany, next week, as well as output at the group's Mini factory in Oxford, England.

Mercedes-Benz expects to reduce production at some of its European plants as supplies of parts produced in Ukraine run short.