The week car manufacturing came to a halt - week 12 2020
Fotó: Audi Hungaria
Several OEMs, including Fiat-Chrysler, Ford, VW and PSA Group, halted production partially or completely at their European and North American production sites last week as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. Decisions made last week brought a total stoppage in car manufacturing activities in Hungary. Let's recap what week 11 brought in the region's automotive industry. Clicking on the highlighted items will open the full stories
On March 13th, an agreement on workers’ salaries was finally reached at Audi Hungaria between the trade union and management, bringing to a close weeks of wage negotiations.
Audi announced last week to stop production in its European plants, including its Győr-based unit, effective from March 23rd. In order to help its employees in these times of uncertainty, Audi Hungaria decided to bring forward the payment of employee bonuses.
Opel’s Szentgotthárd unit also announced last week to halt production on Monday. It was followed by similar decisions by Magyar Suzuki Corporation in Esztergom and Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary in Kecskemét.
Despite the worsening situation, the construction of the BMW plant in Debrecen is moving forward.
Automotive supplier Denso Gyártó Magyarország Kft. has also decided to bring forward its scheduled summer shutdown.
Stadler’s Szolnok-based railway coach plant switched to single-shift production on Monday.
Bridgestone’s Tatabánya plant made an announcement last week about a complete and successful transition to renewable energy resources.
Following Ferrari’s announcement from earlier, Fiat-Chrysler also announced to shut down production at various European manufacturing locations. The PSA Group also announced a comprehensive stoppage in Europe effective until at least March 27th.
VW AG, along with Ford, announced shutdowns at various European production sites expected to last for weeks.
To address growing health concerns, the Renault Group also decided to stop production at a number of locations. The decision affects manufacturing locations in Romania, Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Although BMW carries on with the construction of its new plant in Debrecen, the German manufacturer was the first OEM to announce a lasting stoppage as a response to the pandemic, scheduled to be in effect for at least four weeks.
Shortages in parts, demand and growing health risks are also increasingly affecting European suppliers. Bosch and Continental both made announcements to partially or completely halt production at their Western European plants.
The uncertainty and economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, together with changes in tax regulations resulted in a 7.4 percent year-on-year drop in passenger car sales in February in the European Union.
Analysts are projecting recession in the United Kingdom and Germany for 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. A decline in GDP is also expected in France.
