Volkswagen to gradually restart production by late April

The plants of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand will gradually restart production. The plants in Zwickau and Bratislava (Slovakia) will start production in the week from April 20. In the week from April 27, production will restart in the other German production facilities as well as in Portugal, Spain, Russia and the USA. In the course of May, production in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico will also be gradually resumed.

Ralf Brandstätter, COO of the Volkswagen brand, said: “With the decisions of the federal and state governments and the relaxation of measures in other European countries, the framework has been created to be able to gradually start production again. Volkswagen has been preparing intensively for this in the past three weeks. In addition to developing a comprehensive catalog of measures to protect the health of the workforce, we have also pushed ahead with the reconstruction of our supply chains. ”Part-time working continues to apply to Volkswagen plants in Germany, but the number of part-time workers will be gradually reduced depending on the start-up.


The start-up takes place in accordance with the current availability of parts, the state requirements in Germany and Europe, the development in the sales markets and the resulting control strategies in production. Regardless of this, compliance with the high health protection measures for employees always comes first.

Andreas Tostmann, Member of the Board of Management for Production and Logistics at the Volkswagen brand, said: “We are ramping up production and logistics in a staggered and orderly manner. The health of our employees is a top priority. With a 100-point plan, we ensure safe jobs and maximum health protection. With a high degree of responsibility, we ensure that the economy picks up speed again and that cars from the factories reach the dealers and our customers. “

Bernd Osterloh, Chairman of the Works Council, said: “We have never experienced a situation like this. But I know: The motivation among my colleagues is huge to finally get going again. There are restarts after every factory holiday, so we have a lot of experience with that. Now with the pandemic, we have to adjust our routines for it. An answer to this is our new health protection agreement. With around 100 measures, we keep the infection risk at Volkswagen as low as possible. That sets a standard in industry. But let’s not kid ourselves: at first, the new processes will raise questions and concerns among colleagues. Under these circumstances, we have never developed, built and sold vehicles. So I expect managers to ensure the necessary familiarity with the new processes. Time for answers is now more important than the daily production figures. “

Since April 6, Volkswagen Group Components has started to gradually start up production again at its plants in Braunschweig and Kassel, from April 14 also in Salzgitter, Chemnitz and Hanover Components and at the Polish locations in order to start supplying to ensure vehicle production in China. Thomas Schmall, CEO of the Volkswagen Group Components brand: “The gradual start-up of our factories was important in order to secure supplies to the overseas factories. Now it is important to approach the entire production network with comprehensive protective measures and to supply all vehicle-producing plants with components across all brands. The same high health and safety requirements for our employees apply to all of our plants. ”

When restarting, the company also relies on the experience gained during the ramp-up of its production facilities in China, where a large number of consistent health protection measures have been successfully implemented. 32 of the 33 plants there are already producing again. There was no case of Covid-19 in the workforce there. Volkswagen continues to monitor the global situation caused by the corona pandemic very actively. The exchange and approach within the Volkswagen Group, such as the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute, are decisive for further action.

Author: Nabeel K
Email: nabeel@wheelsjoint.com



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Blake Bray
Blake Bray
3 years ago

The pandemic is far from over. Restarting factories can be really detrimental to the progress in containing this virus.