Category: Newswire

Volkswagen starts shutting down production in Europe in face of coronavirus

The German carmaker, which owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat and Skoda brands, said the uncertainty about the fallout from the pandemic meant it was impossible to give any forecasts for its performance this year.Some of its manufacturing has resumed in China.Earnings were driven by higher profits at its VW, Porsche, Seat and Skoda brands, and a return to profitability for its luxury sportscar brand Bentley.

Sneek peek: 2021 Ford F-150 revealed in renderings

The 2021 Ford F-150 isn’t due to be revealed until later this year, but enough information has leaked out to offer an idea of what the 14th generation truck might look like.The major changes surround the grille — which features a single, instead of double crossbar — and headlight clusters that trade the C-clamp design of the current model for a simpler shape wrapped on the top and outsides by an LED light bar.

Volkswagen suspends production as coronavirus hits sales

* VW says sales down 15% in first two months of 2020
* VW CFO says coronavirus makes forecasts impossible
* VW resumes production in China as Europe shuts down (Adds CFO comment)
FRANKFURT, March 17 (Reuters) – Volkswagen Group , the world's biggest carmaker, is suspending production at factories across Europe as the coronavirus pandemic hits sales and disrupts supply chains, the company said on Tuesday.
The German carmaker, which owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat and Skoda brands, also said that uncertainty about the fallout from coronavirus meant it was impossible to give forecasts for its performance this year.
“Given the present significant deterioration in the sales situation and the heightened uncertainty regarding parts supplies to our plants, production is to be suspended in the near future at factories operated by group brands,” Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Tuesday.
Volkswagen's powerful works council concluded it was not po..

Fiat Chrysler’s only open Italian plant running at reduced capacity

MILAN, March 17 (Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler(FCA) has resumed limited production at its Atessa facility in Italy, the automaker's only open assembly plant, having halted operations at most of its European factories, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
The company said on Monday that it was halting production for two weeks at most of its European plants to help to protect staff and adjust to a slump in demand.
The Atessa plant had been closed since last week as the company performed deep sanitisation and some reconfiguration of production lines to allow more space between workers.
“Operations have restarted with the number of workers reduced by around 45%,” the FCA spokesman said, adding that workers placed on temporary leave will receive benefits through the 'cassa integrazione' wage-guarantee fund.
Located in the central Italian region of Abruzzo and operated by Sevel, a joint venture between the Italian-American automaker and France's PSA-Peugeot, the plant usually produces..

Audi’s Hungarian plant to suspend production because of coronavirus

BUDAPEST, March 17 (Xinhua) — German carmaker Audi will halt production at its plant in Gyor, northwestern Hungary, next Monday due to the coronavirus pandemic and uncertainties in component supply, the Hungarian news agency MTI reported on Tuesday.
“The Volkswagen Group is suspending production at most of its sites,” and the measure affects Audi AG's plant in Gyor, MTI said citing a statement from Audi.
The company plans to halt production in an organized and controlled manner by the end of the current week, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, Hungary is closing its borders to all personal travel with the exception of nationals returning to the country, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Monday.
According to the Hungarian government's updated statistics, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 50 on Tuesday, with two reported recoveries, one fatality. And 137 people are in quarantine.

Volkswagen’s Portugal plant suspends production

LISBON, March 16 (Xinhua) — Volkswagen Autoeuropa, the largest Portuguese exporter and auto producer, was forced to stop production on Monday by a lack of personnel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported.
The factory management realized that none of the three daily shifts could be guaranteed, as many workers decided to stay at home with their children after the government suspended classes in an attempt to contain the pandemic, according to the website of the Portuguese newspaper Publico.
“In view of the absences forecast from March 16, it was also decided to reduce daily production from 890 to 744 units, helping to adjust the factory to the conditions required by national authorities. Both decisions were communicated to all employees on March 13,” the day after the announcement of the suspension of classes till the Easter holidays, the company's top management said in a statement.
Anxiety among the workers was triggered further over the weekend when seven who had ..