The car industry, paralysed by the State of Alarm

The state of alarm is in force in our country, and this means that everything slows down, many sectors shut their doors, and industrial and commercial activity is reduced to a minimum. For this reason, it is no surprise that the car industry has temporarily ceased operations. Several factories have shut down because of the coronavirus, and production has been halted at many plants, both in Spain and in the rest of Europe.

In our country, the major car groups have begun to scale back their activity until stopping it altogether. Among the brands that have completely halted production are Ford, Mercedes, Renault, Volkswagen, Nissan, PSA and Seat. All of them have opted for a temporary pause. In many cases this has been out of social responsibility and to help put up an effective barrier against the spread of the coronavirus. But the lack of components, caused by the reduced activity of supplier companies, has also played a major role.

The large companies close

Ford has closed its Almussafes factory after detecting three positive cases at the plant. Ford intended to close for three days, from 18 to 20 March, but the situation has led to closures for the entire week, at least for the time being. This has been repeated at the other plants that have closed since Monday 16 March.

In the case of PSA, the group has decided to halt all production in Europe, while Mercedes-Benz Vitoria-Gasteiz was forced to stop under pressure from workers, who complained that the company was not taking the necessary measures to prevent infection among them.

In the case of Volkswagen Navarra, which has 4,000 employees, the company has decided to start a Temporary Employment Regulation File (ERTE), due to the lack of temporary staff needed to carry out normal production and the impossibility of guaranteeing workers’ health. Renault has decided to take this measure, hoping the crisis ends soon and normal activity can resume quickly. This measure affects the plants in Valladolid and Palencia.

Nissan has also interrupted activity at the Zona Franca de Barcelona, and SEAT has likewise decided to suspend industrial activity for a period. Not only the assembly plants are paralysed; the Michelin plants have also halted their activity.

Factories outside Spain

This situation is also occurring in other parts of Europe. At the time of writing, nothing has yet been said about the state of the industry in France or Germany, but it is only a matter of time before production is interrupted there too. In Italy, two large companies such as Ferrari and Lamborghini have closed their doors to contain the infection that is also sweeping through the Italian peninsula.

For at least a few weeks, the European automotive industry will be paralysed. As the rest of industrial activity waits for a solution to the coronavirus crisis, we will keep a close eye on everything related to news from the motor world and the state of alarm we are living through.