After a whole series of factory closings in Italy, several European brands are following suit. Volkswagen, Ford and Renault-Nissan, among others, announce new measures.
As with other industries, corona is hitting the bomb in global car production. Fiat takes after previous measures a new radical decision. Fiat Chrysler now shuts down the entire production of Fiat and Maserati. This means that in addition to all production tires in Italy, those in Serbia and Poland are now also coming to a standstill. No Fiat 500L will be built in Serbian Kragujevac for the next two weeks, and production of the current Fiat 500C and Lancia Ypsilon will be discontinued in Tychy, Poland. In addition, FCA will also not be building any Maserati’s Levante and new electric Fiats 500 in the Italian Mirafiori factory in the coming period.
Ford
Ford’s Spanish production in Valencia has also been standing still for at least a week. Three factory employees there have been tested positive for COVID-19. This is a big blow to Ford, because the Spanish factory is the largest production site outside the United States for the manufacturer. Every year, 8,000 employees ensure that 450,000 cars are built. At the moment, the Kuga, Transit Connect, Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy are born here.
Spain
Seat also announces a temporary production break that can last days to weeks. The 7,000 employees of the Spanish factory in Martorell are particularly affected because it is uncertain how long the production break will last. CEO Matias Carnero told Reuters it could take up to six weeks! All Ibiza and Leons are built in the factory. Nissan joins Seats decision and ceases production at its Spanish factories in Barcelona. About 3,000 Spaniards are employed by Nissan and remain at home indefinitely. In addition to engines, Nissan also builds cars such as the NV200 and the Navara in Spain.
Slovakia
Volkswagen announces that the doors of the Slovakian factory in Bratislava will remain closed. This happened after the Slovak government locked the country. Several products from the portfolio are built in the factory, such as the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and the Volkswagen Up, Skoda Citigo and Seat Mii. Parts of the Bentley Bentayga also take longer to arrive due to the closure. It is not known when the factory will reopen. Remarkably, Jaguar Land Rover tells Automotive News Europe that their Slovak factory will simply remain open.
Lamborghini and Ferrari factories were previously closed. Other manufacturers are also likely to follow rapidly in several countries. Time will have to show how the world will respond to the production backlog.