VW to restart production beginning April 20

KUALA LUMPUR: Volkswagen, earlier in April 2020, announced the extension of its manufacturing plant closure till April 19. Now, we hear it is working on plans to restart the production in a stey-by-step basis starting April 20.

To begin with, VW Passenger Cars will resume production at its Slovakian plants in Bratislava and Zwickau from April 20. This will be followed by other factories in the United States, Germany, Russia, Spain, and Portugal from April 27. As for the facilities located in Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, and Argentina production will resume sometime in May.

Ralf Brandstätter, COO of Volkswagen said, “With the decisions by the federal and state governments in Germany and the loosening of restrictions in other European states, conditions have been established for the gradual resumption of production. Volkswagen has prepared intensively for these steps over the past three weeks. In addition to developing a comprehensive catalogue of measures for the protection of our employees’ health, we have also forged ahead with the re-establishment of our supply chains.”

Despite the planned opening, short-time working will continue at VW plants in Germany. However, the automaker expects the number of employees affected by the measures to reduce in the future.

Andreas Tostmann, Volkswagen board member responsible for Production and Logistics, commented, “We are resuming production and logistics with a staged approach in a well-organized way. The health of our employees has the highest priority. We are providing safe workplaces and the maximum possible level of health protection with a 100-point plan”.

He added that, in full awareness of its responsibility, the company ensures to regain the momentum of the economy with cars once again, leaving the plants and reaching its dealers and customers.

Meanwhile, production at companies plants in Brunswick and Kassel has already resumed in a step-by-step manner from April 6. Also, to safeguard component supplies for car production in China, VW’s plants in Hanover, Salzgitter, Polish, and Chemnitz plants resumed work from April 14.

VW is gaining experience from the plants in China where production work has resumed, and health protection measures are implemented successfully. At present, 32 out of 33 plants in China have started operations, with no COVID-19 cases reported among the employees.

Also Read: VW Nivus CUV nears debut, might replace the Polo hatch