VW CEO warns factory closures may drag on for weeks
24.March 2020Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess warned that the coronavirus crisis may force the company to keep its factories shut for longer than initially planned.
Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess warned that the coronavirus crisis may force the company to keep its factories shut for longer than initially planned.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announced today that production at the company’s Goodwood-based manufacturing plant will be suspended from Monday 23 March for two weeks.
Hyundai and Kia will suspend production at their eastern European factories for two weeks, starting on Monday.
Volkswagen Group will suspend production this week at plants in Italy, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain and is preparing to shut down the rest of its factories across Europe due to the spread of coronavirus.
Fiat Chrysler is halting production through March 27 at the majority of its plants in Europe following the coronavirus crisis which is disrupting the economy.
Tesla has ordered about 30 U.S. employees back home because of rising fears about the spread of the coronavirus in Germany, Automobilwoche reported.
The coronavirus outbreak is hitting the German economy leaving supply chains at risk the in coming weeks, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday.
The coronavirus outbreak and a weak economic outlook could trigger a fall of more than 15 percent in car sales in Italy this year, industry association UNRAE said, calling on Rome for support.
Fiat’s new 500 full-electric car will join the growing number of battery-powered minicars targeting customers in Europe’s cities seeking emissions-free mobility.
Munich will succeed Frankfurt as the German auto show’s host city starting in 2021, the VDA German automakers association said.
German new-car registrations are expected to decline by 6 percent in 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak hits automakers and suppliers, industry association VDA said on Thursday.
The Geneva auto show, due to start next week, has been canceled after the Swiss government banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people.
The organizers of the Geneva auto show have asked exhibitors from coronavirus-infected areas to check staff for symptoms before arriving in Switzerland.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is restricting access to its European plants following the spread of the coronavirus in northern Italy.
China car sales plunged 92 percent during the first two weeks of February as the coronavirus outbreak kept buyers away from showrooms.
Following the news that this year’s Beijing auto show – planned for April – is being postponed due to the coronavirus health crisis; the coronavirus public health crisis alone puts a big question-mark next to this year’s Geneva Motor Show, scheduled for March.
Skoda’s first battery-powered model based on parent Volkswagen Group’s MEB electric platform will be called the Enyaq.
Disruptions to parts production caused by the coronavirus outbreak in China could threaten output at one of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ plants in Europe within two to four weeks, CEO Mike Manley said.
Volkswagen Group has postponed the resumption of production at its China joint ventures, in the latest sign of the coronavirus’s impact on economic activity.
Automakers face twin short-term challenges: the transition toward producing a higher share of electric vehicles in response to tightening emission legislation and declining volumes in their biggest markets: Europe, China, US.