As many vehicle assembly plants have started production or will be starting soon across continental Europe, UK carmakers have signaled their intentions to do the same.
Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s biggest automaker, said it plans to gradually resume production from May 18, starting with its manufacturing plants in Solihull in the UK as well as the Nitra facility in Slovakia and Magna Steyr factory in Graz, Austria, where the Jaguar E-Pace and I-Pace are made.
“As countries are relaxing distancing guidelines and retailers are reopening around the world, the restart of production at our other plants will be confirmed in due course,” Jaguar Land Rover said in a statement.
The carmaker added that it will adopt “strict social distancing” and other measures to ensure the health and safety of its workers. The company said it’s starting to see recovery in vehicle sales in China, where customers are also returning to showrooms. JLR’s joint venture plant in Changshu has been in operation since mid-February.
Aston Martin will restart St Athan plant on May 5 to begin DBX production
Moving on to Aston Martin, the luxury car manufacturer said on Thursday it plans to restart its new St Athan plant in south Wales on May 5, with operations at the main Gaydon factory to follow later. Earlier this week, Aston Martin said it was focusing on launching production of its first SUV, the DBX, under new chairman Lawrence Stroll.
The company said most of its employees are currently furloughed, and those who will remain laid off from May 1 will get 80 percent of their base salaries. According to Reuters, Aston Martin also announced pay cuts between 5 percent and 35 percent for its senior leadership team. The company’s new head honcho and Formula 1 team owner Lawrence Stroll has elected to receive a nominal salary of 1 pound per annum.
Vauxhall has not announced a date but is ready to restart Ellesmere Port plant
PSA-owned Vauxhall has not announced a firm date for the resuming of operations at its Ellesmere Port plant in the UK. However, the carmaker said the facility has remained “active” during its closure and “implemented a protocol of reinforced health measures.”
The facility’s management team has invited employees’ representatives to make a final review of the safety protocols, “before a resumption of manufacturing activity can begin.” The protocol includes more than 100 measures covering all the company’s activities at industrial, administrative, R&D and commercial level.
The most important measures include checking employees’ temperatures, in addition to their self-monitoring of symptoms, wearing glasses and masks on site, respecting safe distances between people, and frequent cleaning of tools and work surfaces.