March 18, 2020

Ford, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Ducati Halts European Production


As Europe becomes the newest hotspot for COVID-19, several automakers are now shutting down either due to supply chain constraints or as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the disease. After Lamborghini and Ferrari (as well as Pirelli and Brembo) announced production suspensions, Volkswagen, Ford, and Ducati are now doing the same.

For Volkswagen, it entails a two-week suspension starting today. 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.

Ford is also doing the same for its facilities across Europe. The Ford vehicle manufacturing sites in Cologne and Saarlouis in Germany, together with the Craiova facility in Romania, will temporarily halt production from Thursday, March 19. Ford’s Valencia assembly and engine facility in Spain already temporarily halted production from Monday, March 16, after three workers were confirmed with coronavirus over the past weekend.

Meanwhile, Groupe PSA has decided to close its vehicle production sites at least until the end of next week. The parent company of Peugeot will shutter its entire European manufacturing footprint with plants in France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Slovakia all affected.

Finally, Ducati is also shutting down production until next week at its plant in Borgo Panigale in full compliance to the Italian government’s guidelines against the spread of COVID-19.

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