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Coronavirus shuts world’s car plants
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onsequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have severely affected the operations of vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers throughout the world, with production halted at many major assembly plants across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the United Kingdom, South America, Asia and Africa.
Assemby plants in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the United Kingdom, South America, Asia and Africa stand idle in the face of the COVID-19 onslaught Italy, Kragujevac in Serbia and Tychy in Poland.
In America, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation – an organisation formed earlier this year following a merger between the Association of Global Automakers and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers – said in a statement that 42 of the country’s 44 automakers had temporarily closed their doors.
tions were cited by numerous vehicle manufacturers as an additional reason for suspending production operations, other than to protect workers from the coronavirus. Among them were General Motors, which said in a statement that it intended to draw about $16,0-billion (about R281-billion) from its revolving credit facilities to increase its cash position and preserve financial flexibility in light of global market uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, each of Canada’s seven vehicle producers had suspended operations, while 60 of Mexico’s 69 plants had been idled.
In Europe, the manufacturing position was similar to that in the US, with 63 facilities reported to have temporarily shut down in efforts to contain the virus.
Daimler, Volkswagen, Ford, Nissan, BMW, Toyota, Renault and Groupe PSA were among other major manufacturers in Europe to close production doors.
Describing the situation as unprecedented, the Alliance said in a letter to the US Congress that it expected vehicle sales in North America in March to drop by 40% compared with the number sold in the corresponding month last year.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) was among the first to announce that its subsidiaries – FCA Italy and Maserati – would suspend production across the majority of its European assembly plants. Affected sites included those at Melfi, Pomigliano, Cassino, Mirafiori Carrozzerie, Grugliasco and Modena in
On this point, depressed market condi-
Ferrari, too, suspended production at Modena, its F1 race cars among the casualties. And, nearby, Automobili Lamborghini shut its doors at Sant’Agata Bolognese, CEO Stefano Domenicali saying that the measure was an act of social responsibility in view of the “extraordinary situation in which we find ourselves right now in Italy.”
Ford stopped operations at its plants in Cologne and Saarlouis in Germany, Craiova in Romania and at Valencia, Spain, while Volkswagen suspended production in Germany at factories in Continued on Page 2 Auto Report, March, 2020
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