German car dealers to reopen, VW Group production to start
VW Group has announced that it will start reopening its plants from next week. Photo: VW Group
Volkswagen Group is planning to restart production at its Zwickau electric-car plant in Germany and its multibrand plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, that builds SUVs for Porsche, VW and Audi.
The two factories will resume production on April 20, VW Group said in a statement.
The Zwickau plant builds the ID. 3 Golf-sized hatchback that is due to start deliveries in the European summer.
The Bratislava factory is a multibrand facility that builds the Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg and Audi Q7 SUVs, along with the VW Up and Skoda Citigo.
Other factories in Germany as well as plants in Portugal, Spain, Russia and the USA will resume production starting April 27, VW said.
Factories in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico will ramp up production in May.
VW said it has prepared a 100-point plan to ensure safe workplaces and maximum health protection for employees.
"We are ramping up production and logistics in a staggered and well-ordered manner," VW production boss Andreas Tostmann said in the media release.
VW has been restarting production at its component plants since April 6, initially in Germany at its factories in Brunswick and Kassel, and from April 14 in Salzgitter, Chemnitz and Hanover, as well as at its Polish sites, initially to ensure the supply of vehicle production in China.
Meanwhile, dealerships in Germany will be allowed to resume selling cars as Chancellor Angela Merkel's government relaxes its coronavirus lockdown in Europe's biggest market.
Auto lobby groups welcomed the move, says Automotive News Europe. They had warned that many dealerships faced bankruptcy after building up high inventories that cannot be sold to customers.
The government did not set a date for when dealerships will reopen for new and used car sales because the timing will be up to individual states. But industry groups expect some showrooms could start opening as soon as April 20.
They say dealerships will be able to quickly resume sales after they have implemented safety measures because many have remained open for servicing and repairs, which is allowed.