All the plant shutdowns due to Coronavirus...
Hello everyone, it’s Chilli here with another episode of Carzaam news where we talk about the future of the automotive industry including the latest from autonomous, connected and electric vehicles.
Today we have a great episode, I am going to roll through each of the manufacturers and give their latest updates relating to the Coronavirus impacts … Enjoy!
COVID-19 and the auto industry: All the plant shutdowns due to coronavirus
Automakers across the US and Europe have declared temporary shutdowns, including Detroit's Big 3, and many have extended shutdowns beyond their original dates.
Ford - Ford shut down all European and North American production on March 19.
While Ford intended to reopen facilities and restart production on March 30, the company has since delayed that date indefinitely. However, it plans to start ventilator production at one of its US facilities on April 20.
General Motors - GM announced a total suspension of all North American production starting March 19. GM hasn't made any announcements regarding when its plants will resume normal production, but it is building ventilators and masks at two US GM facilities.
Fiat Chrysler - FCA announced it would suspend all North American operations on March 18. FCA has since announced on April 7 it intends to bring its workers back on May 4.
Kia - Kia said on March 24 that it would suspend production at its manufacturing plant in Georgia starting March 30. The shutdown was intended to last two weeks, and includes a previously planned suspension to retool for new vehicles.
The automaker said it plans to restart production on April 13, and in the meantime the plant will undergo cleaning and sanitation measures.
Mazda - The Japanese automaker said on March 24 it will halt production at its Japanese plants for 13 days. When they come back online, the company said it will only run daytime shifts through April 30.
Mazda's sole plant in Mexico shut down for 10 days starting March 24, and its plant in Thailand suspended operations for 10 days.
Aston Martin - The British luxury carmaker said on March 24 it would suspend all production starting the same day. The company plans to reopen its plants across the UK on April 20.
Volvo - The Swedish luxury carmaker made its production suspension official on March 20 and said its European plant would close until April 5.
After the date came and went, Volvo is now targeting April 20 to reopen its European factories.
In the US, its plant went idle starting March 26 with plans to restart operations on April 14 which have now been pushed back to May 4.
Volvo also reported a bit of hope from China, though with all four of its Chinese plants up and running again and noting showroom traffic has returned to normal.
Rivian - The startup electric carmaker said on March 20 it would suspend all operations at Rivian facilities. The automaker had not started production of its first vehicle, the R1T electric pickup, but pre-production was underway.
The company has since confirmed the work stoppage will delay the R1T and R1S electric vehicles until next year.
Tesla - After a lot of back and forth, Tesla said on March 20 it would close its signature plant in Fremont, California, starting March 23.
Bugatti - France's supercar maker, Bugatti, said on March 20 it has closed its production plant in Molsheim to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Bentley - The British luxury brand said on March 20 it would suspend production starting the same day in the UK. The factory shutdown will last four weeks, according to the company.
Jaguar-Land Rover - On March 20, Jaguar-Land Rover confirmed it would temporarily shut down production at its UK facilities. Plants in Brazil and India will continue humming along for now, and the automaker said it hopes to restart production in the UK on April 20.
Volkswagen - Starting March 21, Volkswagen temporarily suspended production at its manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Like numerous other facilities, VW said it would use the week to conduct a deep clean of the facility and sanitize the entire factory.
As of April 9, the automaker said it's not clear when it will be able to resume operations normally and furloughed the entire production and maintenance workforce.
On March 17, Volkswagen Group announced it would suspend production at numerous production sites across Europe, including Slovakia, Portugal and Spain. At the time, the automaker said it expected the suspensions to last two weeks.
Toyota - On March 18, Toyota joined a growing list of automakers suspending all North American production operations, saying every plant in the US, Canada and Mexico would shut down starting March 23.
On March 26, Toyota reassessed the situation and said the production suspension will now last until April 20. On April 8, the target date moved again to May 1.
Subaru - The Japanese automaker announced March 19 that its sole US production plant would suspend production temporarily starting March 23. The company planned to restart operations on March 29, but now, the target date is April 20.
The company said the move will help Subaru adjust to market demand and protect the health of workers at the plant and that workers will receive their full wages during the shutdown.
Honda - The Japanese automaker became the first company operating in the US to announce a major production stoppage on March 18. The production suspension was set to end after a week, but now, Honda currently expects to resume production on May 4.
Hyundai - The South Korean automaker said on March 18 that it temporarily shut down its plant in Alabama after a worker tested positive for COVID-19. Hyundai expects its Alabama plant to reopen on May 1.
Nissan - The Japanese automaker announced on March 18 it would suspend all production in the US starting March 20 with operations in Mexico and Canada not affected at this time.
The plant shutdowns were supposed to run until April 6, but on April 1 Nissan announced plants would remain shut down through the end of the month after the automaker announced that an employee working at the company headquarters tested positive for COVID-19 on April 4.
Porsche - The automaker said on March 18 it would stop production at its German plants to keep its workforce safe and healthy. The work stoppage was to last at least two weeks, but on April 6, the company decided to officially postpone production until April 14.
Like Daimler, Porsche said the global supply chain makes it impossible to continue output as normal and is preparing for a decline in demand and will commence work to secure its finances.
Rolls-Royce - The British luxury marque said on March 18 it would suspend production at its UK facility for two weeks starting March 23.
The shutdown was to extend into a preplanned two-week shutdown for the Easter holiday as an effort to keep workers healthy and follow new guidelines put in place by the federal government.
Daimler - Daimler shut down production at its Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama on March 23 and expects production to restart on April 20, a spokesperson tells Roadshow.
On March 17 it would stop all production in Europe for at least two weeks. The automaker cited global supply chains that can't operate at their full capacity and said the precaution is also meant to protect its workforce from the virus' spread. On April 8, the company extended the production shutdown until April 30.
PSA Group - The automaker that oversees the Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands announced on March 16 all of its plants across Europe would shut down on a tiered schedule. As of March 16, two plants shut down, one in France and one in Spain.
On March 17, eight additional plants went offline; three other plants halted production on March 18 and two more on March 19.
The plants are spread across France, Spain, the UK, Poland, Germany and other locations. The plants were to reopen on March 27, but PSA Group announced that day that it would establish a new timeline for resumption.
Renault - France's Renault said it would suspend production until further notice at 12 of its sites across the country on March 16.
Ferrari - The Italian supercar maker announced on March 16 that both of its plants in Maranello and Modena, Italy, would shut down until March 27. On March 27, Ferrari postponed its production resumption until April 14.
Lamborghini - The automaker said on March 13 it would halt operations at its plant in Sant'Agata Bolognese. It's unclear when production will restart.
Ducati - The motorcycle maker first announced it would stop production at its plant in Italy on March 13. The plant was supposed to reopen March 18, but postponed to March 25. Ducati did not respond to a request for comment on when its operations will resume.
Summary - A big lesson from these announcements is that many proposed timelines have arrived and been extended. It seems only the Nissan plats in Mexico and Canada have continued to operate, with virtually all automotive manufacturing across the globe postposed at the current time.
The next announcements to look for are Kia and Renault who are due to recommence this week and Aston Martin, JLR and Subaru who all plan to open next week.
My feeling is these plans will all be extended by a month and reviewed with the latest available information on a rolling monthly basis. With the entire supply chain frozen up, many plants may stay shuttered, with China only recently opening up parts of it’s economy in the last few days.
https://www.cnet.com/news/car-storage-checklist-tips-coronavirus-shutdown/
That’s all the time we have for Cazaam automotive news today, please leave your comments below, make sure you connect with me on social and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button, bye for now.
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