Will US and European Car Factories Operate in May?

European Car Factories Gradually Resuming Operations... US Discusses Restarting in Mid-May

On the 27th (local time), the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) plant in Atessa, central Italy, resumed operations. (AP=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Automobile factories in Europe and the United States, which had stopped operations since mid-March due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), are showing signs of restarting.

According to foreign media on the 1st, Volkswagen resumed operations at its Zwickau plant in Germany and Bratislava plant in Slovakia last month on the 20th after a one-month halt. From the 27th, it has been gradually increasing production at other plants located in Germany, Spain, Russia, and more, including the Wolfsburg plant in Germany. Volkswagen operates factories in 20 European countries.

BMW plans to resume production starting on the 4th of this month at its Goodwood plant in the UK. After the 18th, it intends to restart plants in Munich, Leipzig, and others. Renault has decided to partially operate its Flins plant in western Paris.

Major American automakers, which had stopped their factories for over a month, are also discussing plans to restart North American plants around mid-May. According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the US 'Big 3' automakers?General Motors (GM), Fiat Chrysler (FCA), and Ford?recently tentatively decided on this schedule following discussions with the United Auto Workers (UAW) leadership and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, where many factories are concentrated. The target restart date is May 18.

Earlier, these automakers had announced plans to resume factory operations earlier this month, but the UAW had expressed that it was premature due to safety concerns.

WSJ added that these companies have continued cooperating with the UAW on safety regulations to reduce workers' concerns about COVID-19 infection after restarting factories, and there has been recent progress.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.