After months of shutdown due to the coronavirus epidemic, auto production is slowly restarting in China.
This is good news, while Europe is still in quarantine, and now one of the continents most affected by the raging coronavirus epidemic. The whole economy is today at a standstill for an indefinite period, in China on the other hand, where it all started a little more than three months ago, production is restarting again.
After two months of confinement, the cities that were once hardest hit are waking up again, and factories are resuming their pace, particularly in Wuhan, the capital of the pandemic. While the lifting of the containment remains partial, the automobile production is starting again, in order to limit the economic damage.
Currently, 95% of companies are said to have resumed their activities, while 60% of SMEs have been able to reopen their doors and work again. Auto parts factories are now running at full speed, as Chinese Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xin Guobin announced; ” Thanks to everyone’s joint efforts, the recovery of production in the Chinese auto industry is progressing in an orderly fashion, which has played an important role in stabilizing the global supply chain.”
Renault and PSA
In addition to the parts factories, the vehicle production sites have also restarted, notably those of PSA and Renault. The group led by Carlos Tavares resumed its activity in China a few days ago, with production of the Peugeot 2008 and Citroën C3-XR.
Renault, via the DRAC joint venture, was able to reopen its Chinese factories on March 30, after its shutdown in January. In addition, the Busan plant in South Korea is also recommencing activities. As a reminder, this site assembles many Renault Samsung Motor models, such as the SM3, SM6 and SM7, as well as the Renault Twizy and other Koleos.
