Brussels, 31 March 2020 – The jobs of at least 1,110,107 Europeans working in automobile manufacturing are affected by factory shutdowns as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, according to data compiled by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). This figure only refers to those people directly employed by car, truck, van and bus manufacturers – the impact on the wider automotive supply chain is even more critical.
EU-wide production losses due to factory shutdowns amount to at least 1,231,038 motor vehicles so far. The average shutdown duration is 16 working days at the moment. Production losses are obviously set to increase if shutdowns are extended or additional plants are brought to a halt.
ACEA has published this information in two interactive maps visually showing the impact on the automobile industry for each of the 27 EU member states plus the United Kingdom, both in terms of the number of employees affected and lost production in units.
In total 2.6 million direct manufacturing jobs are provided by the EU automotive industry, with vehicle makers operating 229 vehicle assembly and production plants across the region. The wider auto sector provides indirect and direct jobs for 13.8 million people in the European Union.
“Right now, the primary concern of ACEA and all its members is to manage the immediate crisis facing the auto industry, which has essentially come to an abrupt halt – something the sector has never experienced before,” stated Eric-Mark Huitema, ACEA Director General.
“Our first priority is to protect the health and jobs of the almost 14 million Europeans who work directly or indirectly in our sector.”
***
Notes for editors
- Interactive map: Employment impact of COVID-19 on the European auto industry
- Interactive map: Production impact of COVID-19 on the European auto industry
- This is by far the most comprehensive EU-wide overview currently available, combining all known information and available sources.
- The data is aggregated by ACEA and updated on a weekly basis using multiple sources, including IHS Markit, MarkLines, national automobile manufacturers’ associations and public announcements by manufacturers.
- ACEA fully acknowledges that this overview is non-exhaustive, it merely serves as a tool to show the EU-wide impact of the crisis.
About ACEA
- ACEA represents the 16 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus manufacturers: BMW Group, CNH Industrial, DAF Trucks, Daimler, Ferrari, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Jaguar Land Rover, PSA Group, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, Volvo Cars, and Volvo Group.
- The ACEA commercial vehicle members are DAF Trucks, Daimler Trucks, Ford Trucks, IVECO, MAN Truck & Bus, Scania, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and Volvo Group.
- More information about ACEA can be found on www.acea.be or www.twitter.com/ACEA_eu.
- Contact: Cara McLaughlin, Communications Director, [email protected], +32 485 88 66 47.
About the EU automobile industry
- 13.8 million Europeans work in the auto industry (directly and indirectly), accounting for 6.1% of all EU jobs.
- 11.4% of EU manufacturing jobs – some 3.5 million – are in the automotive sector.
- Motor vehicles account for €428 billion in taxes in the EU15 countries alone.
- The automobile industry generates a trade surplus of €84.4 billion for the EU.
- The turnover generated by the auto industry represents over 7% of EU GDP.
- Investing €57.4 billion in R&D annually, the automotive sector is Europe’s largest private contributor to innovation, accounting for 28% of total EU spending.