The fire has finally been extinguished on the cargo ship Felicity Ace and the stricken vessel is now being towed back to port in the Bahamas for its final voyage. Among those eagerly waiting for its arrival are Volkswagen Group representatives, who want to know the final cost of the damage done to the car group's vehicles aboard the ship.
The early prognosis is not good based on Volkswagen Group of America's email to Automotive News on Friday. The American arm of Volkswagen said they fear that the fire on board Felicity Ace has damaged a large number of the nearly 4,000 Group-brand vehicles to such an extent that they can no longer be delivered to their customers.
The company added that more detailed information regarding the vehicles affected in the blaze is not yet available. Brands and dealers have already begun notifying their customers affected by the incident.
Volkswagen has remained quiet thus far about the actual makeup of the vehicles onboard Felicity Ace, according to Insurance Journal. However, dealer and company sources with knowledge of the matter have stated that around 1,800 vehicles were Audis. They were then followed in volume by Porsches, which are believed to outnumber Volkswagen's vehicles on board the cargo ship by a ratio of more than two to one.
Based on information gathered from the dealers, around half of the Volkswagen vehicles aboard the car carrier were ID4 EVs. The remaining vehicles consisted of Volkswagen's Arteon, Golf R, and GTI models. Volkswagen Group's lower volume luxury brands were also affected by this blaze, with 189 Bentleys and 85 Lamborghinis reportedly on board the ill-fated ship.
Andrea Baldi, the chief executive of Lamborghini of America, hopes that some of the brand's supercars onboard the ship were undamaged, particularly the Aventadors, as the Italian luxury carmaker has just finished that model's production run.
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This incident has turned into a major problem for Volkswagen Group, with some saying that the vehicle damage may end up being even higher than the early estimated amount of US$355 million. The Felicity Ace was tasked by Volkswagen Group to deliver thousands of vehicles to the Port of Davisville in Rhode Island to refresh everyone's memory.
Felicity Ace departed Emden, Germany, on February 10 and was scheduled to arrive in the United States on February 23. However, something went wrong in the middle of its voyage in the Atlantic Ocean, with a fire suddenly breaking out on February 16.
According to the captain of Felicity Ace, the fire broke out on the ship's cargo deck where Volkswagen's vehicles were stowed. The flames spread quickly, forcing 22 crew members to abandon the vessel. The fire proved too difficult to extinguish with the lithium batteries in electric vehicles, keeping it alive for six days.
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