Every major UK car maker halts or slashes production because of the coronavirus crisis
Every major car maker in the UK has halted or slashed production because of the coronavirus crisis.
Jaguar Land Rover became the latest to announce its factories were temporarily closing, follow- ing in the footsteps of Vauxhall owner PSA Group, Nissan, Honda, Toyota and BMW, which builds the Mini in Oxford.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, warned that the British car industry ‘stands on the precipice’.
Jaguar Land Rover became the latest to announce its factories were temporarily closing, follow- ing in the footsteps of Vauxhall owner PSA Group, Nissan, Honda, Toyota and BMW, which builds the Mini in Oxford
JLR said its sites at Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood would not reopen until April 20 at the earliest.
And Volkswagen-owned Bentley Motors said work was being postponed at its Crewe factory until the same date. JLR’s move leaves only lowervolume car makers – such as Aston Martin – active during the corona- virus outbreak.
Ford will bring forward part of the summer shutdown for its British engine plants to Easter.
It will temporarily stop produc- tion from March 23 at its London site and from the end of March at its Welsh facility.
Dealerships’ firm Pendragon had warned earlier this week that visitors to showrooms were expected to fall as customers stayed indoors.
However, Jaguar’s manufactur- ing plants in Brazil and India are continuing their operations, while its Chinese operations reopened at the end of February after a period of closure.
The company said showroom visits in China were returning to normal as the country, where the coronavirus first began, recovers from the outbreak.
In the US, Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler have all announced shutdowns of various degrees. Tesla, in California, has been ordered to shut down.