COVID-19: Volkswagen to resume production on April 20

The world is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic with governments implementing strict lockdown measures in a bid to halt the spread, and it appears to be working as Volkswagen says several of its vehicle producing factories in Europe will resume production from April 20.

The factories are in Germany, Bratislava and Slovakia, while a week later (April 27) Volkswagen says its plants in Portugal, Spain, Russia, and the United States will be back online too.

The auto giant - whose car brands include Audi, Porsche, Skoda and Seat - says it plans to get factories in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico back working the following month.

Like several other carmakers, Volkswagen had temporarily closed most of its production network after over 100 employees worldwide contracted the virus.

Its factories in China are already operating at 60 per cent of their pre-crisis capacity.