Volkswagen is confronting a potentially 4 million-vehicle global recall just days after cutting its profit outlook, adding a sprawling repair campaign to an already expensive restructuring program.
Reuters reported Friday, citing German newspaper Handelsblatt, that the recall could cover roughly 4 million Volkswagen Group vehicles across Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, and Seat. Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority, or KBA, has identified nearly 2.86 million Volkswagen and Audi vehicles affected worldwide.
The problem centers on a mounting bolt in the steering system that can corrode and eventually break. Volkswagen said customers are being called into workshops as a precaution because continued corrosion could eventually impair steering. The repair involves replacing the affected bolt with a more corrosion-resistant component and should take less than an hour.
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For the Volkswagen brand, KBA data covers almost 2.16 million vehicles worldwide, including certain Golf, Golf Variant, Tiguan, Touran, and Caddy models produced between September 2013 and July 2024. Nearly 900,000 of those vehicles are in Germany.
Audi’s portion includes nearly 700,000 Q3 vehicles produced between October 2017 and May 2024, including 58,555 in Germany.
The remaining scope is less clear. Reuters said Handelsblatt reported more than 1 million affected Skodas and about 200,000 Seats. Seat reportedly confirmed its figure, while Skoda did not immediately comment.
However, separate KBA-linked data for Seat lists only 66,224 Ateca and Tarraco vehicles worldwide, including 43,574 in Germany, under recall campaign 48T7.
The steering issue itself predates Friday’s report. Transport Canada published a recall covering certain Volkswagen Tiguan and Atlas and Audi Q3 vehicles on September 11. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration subsequently disclosed a 208,724-vehicle recall involving a steering rack bolt that could corrode and break.
The widening recall arrives one week after Volkswagen cut its 2026 operating return on sales forecast from 4.0%–5.5% to no more than 1%. The company expects about €10 billion in special items to weigh on operating profit this year, including Porsche-related impairment charges and restructuring expenses. Volkswagen still forecasts roughly €315 billion in 2026 revenue.
Reuters said Handelsblatt characterized the four-brand campaign as Volkswagen’s largest recall since the Dieselgate scandal.
