COVID-19 update: Over 20 carmakers temporarily shut down due to the virus

Pandemic means the already stalling auto industry could be running out of road altogether

Last updated:
Imran Malik, Assistant Editor
2 MIN READ
1/25
VOLKSWAGEN: Volkswagen announced on March 19 that it would be temporarily suspending production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, manufacturing plant from March 21 to conduct a deep clean of the facility and sanitize the entire factory. It also announced it will suspend production at numerous production sites across Europe, including Slovakia, Portugal and Spain. The automaker added that all its staff will continue to receive their full salary during this time.
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2/25
HYUNDAI: On March 18 the South Korean automaker said it will temporarily shut down its plant in Montgomery, Alabama, and undergo sanitation measures after a worker tested positive for COVID-19. It said it expected to reopen by April 13.
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3/25
ROLLS-ROYCE: On March 18 the British luxury marque said it would suspend production at its UK facility from March 23 - along with its civil aerospace operations - for two weeks.
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4/25
DAIMLER: On March 17 the German automaker, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, said it will stop all production in Europe for at least two weeks to curtail the outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus that has killed thousands and sickened many thousands more. The parent company of the Mercedes-Benz brand said the suspension applies to its car, van and commercial vehicle plants.
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5/25
PSA GROUPE: It oversees the Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands and it announced on March 16 that all of its plants spread across France, Spain, the UK, Poland, Germany and other locations will shut down.
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6/25
FORD: It closed all European and North American production on March 19 in a bid to help combat the spread of COVID-19. It intended to reopen facilities and restart production on March 30 but has since decided to wait until April 14 before it opens a select number of facilities.
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7/25
LAMBORGHINI: The Italian carmaker said on March 13 that it will halt operations at its Sant'Agata Bolognese plant and it has not mentioned when production will restart.
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8/25
RENAULT: On March 16, the French carmaker said it would suspend production until further notice at 12 of its sites across the country but yesterday (March 30) it said it was resuming production at two factories in China and South Korea.
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9/25
FERRARI: The Italian supercar maker said on March 16 that both of its plants in Maranello and Modena, Italy, will shut until March 27. Ferrari has since postponed its production resumption until April 14.
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10/25
PORSCHE: It said on March 18 that it would stop production at its plant in Zuffenhausen and a production facility in Leipzig for at least two weeks.
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11/25
NISSAN: On March 18 the Japanese automaker said it would suspend all production in the US from March 20 until April 6.
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12/25
HONDA: The Japanese automaker announced a major production stoppage at its North American factories on March 18. The production suspension was originally planned for one week but on March 26 Honda pushed the suspension by another week. Now, it expects to resume production on April 7.
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13/25
TOYOTA: It suspended all North American production operations on March 23. Every plant in the US, Canada and Mexico is closed until April 20 during which time all facilities will undergo a thorough cleaning process.
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14/25
SUBARU: Its sole US production plant in Lafayette, Indiana, has been suspended since March 23 and the company plans to restart operations on April 6.
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15/25
BENTLEY: The British luxury brand suspended operations in Crewe on March 20. The factory shutdown is set to last four weeks.
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16/25
TESLA: The electric carmaker announced it would be closing its signature plant in Fremont, California, starting March 23 and its New York Gigafactory. CEO Elon Musk says ventilator production would be starting at the latter asap.
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17/25
JAGUAR-LAND ROVER: On March 20, it confirmed it will temporarily shut down production at its UK facilities until April 20. But plants in Brazil and India are continuing operations.
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18/25
BUGATTI: France's supercar maker closed its production plant in Molsheim on March 20 to help stop the spread of COVID-19. It hasn’t mentioned when it could potentially resume business.
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19/25
RIVIAN: The startup electric carmaker said on March 20 it will suspend all operations at various locations in the US including its headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan, a factory in Normal, Illinois, as well as operations in San Jose and Irvine, California. It employs more than 2,000 workers who, the company says, will receive their full pay, but it does not know when it expects to be back.
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20/25
VOLVO: The Swedish luxury carmaker suspended production at its European plant on March 20 and said it will remain closed until April 5. Its US plant stopped on March 26 with plans to restart on April 14. But the good news is that all four of its Chinese plants are up and running again. It also said customers traffic at its showrooms had returned to normal.
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21/25
FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES: On March 18 it announced it would suspend all operations at its North American and European plants to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The plan is to remain closed until April 14.
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22/25
ASTON MARTIN: The British luxury carmaker suspended operations at its Gaydon and St Athan facilities in the UK on March 24 and plans to reopen them on April 20.
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23/25
MAZDA: It halted production at its Japan plants on March 24 with plans to reopen two weeks later but with staff then only doing daytime shifts until April 30. Its only plant in Mexico closed on March 24 (for 10 days) as did its plant in Thailand for the same period.
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24/25
GENERAL MOTORS: On March 19 GM announced a total suspension of all North American production saying that production restart would be evaluated on a week-by-week basis. GM is now building ventilators and masks at two US facilities.
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25/25
KIA: It suspended production at its manufacturing plant in Georgia on March 24 for it to undergo cleaning and sanitation measures and said it planned to restart production on April 13.
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