Released March 25, 2020 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The world's largest carmaker, Volkswagen AG, has announced plans to shut down production at all of its European manufacturing plants due to the coronavirus.
Car rivals Ford and Daimler have also announced similar measures. The company said that initially production facilities in Wolfsburg, Emden, Dresden, Osnabrück, Zwickau, Bratislava (Slovakia), Pamplona (Spain) and Palmela (Portugal) are affected, as well as the components plants at Brunswick, Chemnitz, Hanover, Kassel, Salzgitter and SITECH. It followed this with a statement that it would also halt the production of commercial vehicles at its Polish plants in Poznan, Swarzedz and Wrzesnia for at least two weeks. The company said it is "responding above all to the accelerated rate of infection by coronavirus, the resulting interruption in supply chains and the rapid decline in demand on the automotive markets".
Industrial Info is tracking almost 400 projects in Europe's automotive sector worth a combined $20.5 billion.
Ralf Brandstätter, chief operation officer of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, explained: "The spread of coronavirus in Europe is increasingly having an adverse impact on the demand situation. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to supply our plants with outsourced parts. For this reason, we have decided to run production down in a coordinated way from the end of the late shift on Thursday. We are convinced that this will also be in the interests of our employees who are becoming increasingly concerned about the spread of corona."
Works Council Chairman Bernd Osterloh welcomed the suspension of production: "At times when people can no longer meet on playgrounds or for concerts, go to church or visit restaurants in the evening and are no longer buying cars, and Volkswagen has supply problems, production cannot simply continue as if nothing had happened. For our colleagues in production, there is therefore no alternative to the controlled suspension of production. All the points which remain open will be clarified between the company and the Works Council."
Ford has also announced a temporary shutdown of vehicle and engine production at its car factories in sites in Cologne and Saarlouis in Germany, and its Craiova facility in Romania. The company's assembly and engine facility in Valencia, Spain is also closed. Daimler will suspend most Mercedes-Benz production in Europe for two weeks and said that "the suspension applies to Daimler's car, van and commercial vehicle plants in Europe."
"While the impact of coronavirus at our facilities so far has been limited thankfully, its effects on our employees, dealers, suppliers and customers, as well as European society as a whole, is unprecedented," said Stuart Rowley, president of Ford of Europe. "Due to the dramatic impact this ongoing crisis is having on the European market and the supplier industry -- together with the recent actions by countries to restrict all but essential travel and personal contact -- we are temporarily halting production at our main continental Europe manufacturing sites."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
Car rivals Ford and Daimler have also announced similar measures. The company said that initially production facilities in Wolfsburg, Emden, Dresden, Osnabrück, Zwickau, Bratislava (Slovakia), Pamplona (Spain) and Palmela (Portugal) are affected, as well as the components plants at Brunswick, Chemnitz, Hanover, Kassel, Salzgitter and SITECH. It followed this with a statement that it would also halt the production of commercial vehicles at its Polish plants in Poznan, Swarzedz and Wrzesnia for at least two weeks. The company said it is "responding above all to the accelerated rate of infection by coronavirus, the resulting interruption in supply chains and the rapid decline in demand on the automotive markets".
Industrial Info is tracking almost 400 projects in Europe's automotive sector worth a combined $20.5 billion.
Ralf Brandstätter, chief operation officer of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, explained: "The spread of coronavirus in Europe is increasingly having an adverse impact on the demand situation. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to supply our plants with outsourced parts. For this reason, we have decided to run production down in a coordinated way from the end of the late shift on Thursday. We are convinced that this will also be in the interests of our employees who are becoming increasingly concerned about the spread of corona."
Works Council Chairman Bernd Osterloh welcomed the suspension of production: "At times when people can no longer meet on playgrounds or for concerts, go to church or visit restaurants in the evening and are no longer buying cars, and Volkswagen has supply problems, production cannot simply continue as if nothing had happened. For our colleagues in production, there is therefore no alternative to the controlled suspension of production. All the points which remain open will be clarified between the company and the Works Council."
Ford has also announced a temporary shutdown of vehicle and engine production at its car factories in sites in Cologne and Saarlouis in Germany, and its Craiova facility in Romania. The company's assembly and engine facility in Valencia, Spain is also closed. Daimler will suspend most Mercedes-Benz production in Europe for two weeks and said that "the suspension applies to Daimler's car, van and commercial vehicle plants in Europe."
"While the impact of coronavirus at our facilities so far has been limited thankfully, its effects on our employees, dealers, suppliers and customers, as well as European society as a whole, is unprecedented," said Stuart Rowley, president of Ford of Europe. "Due to the dramatic impact this ongoing crisis is having on the European market and the supplier industry -- together with the recent actions by countries to restrict all but essential travel and personal contact -- we are temporarily halting production at our main continental Europe manufacturing sites."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
