PARIS — PSA Group will gradually restart production at its assembly and powertrain factories beginning this week.
A first wave in the partial resumption in industrial activity will take place between May 4 and May 11, with French sites gradually re-starting from May 11 onwards, PSA said in a news release.
Key operations restarting this week will be the factory in Kenitra, Morocco, which builds the Peugeot 208 small hatchback, the group’s best-selling vehicle, and a plant in Magualde, Portugal, which produces vans, Yann Vincent, PSA's head of industrial operations, said in a conference call Monday.
PSA’s factory in Vigo, Spain, which builds vans, will resume production starting May 11, as will car factories in Villaverde and Zaragoza, both Spain, and the automaker's factory in Trnava, Slovakia, that also makes the Peugeot 208.
The first assembly plant to reopen in France, starting May 11, will be the van factory in Hordain, France, known as Sevelnord.
Vincent said that van plants would be restarted first because PSA had a large order book for light-commercial vehicles, and the demand for the fleet and van market is more predictable than for privately owned passenger cars.
The first French factories to reopen would include powertrain and transmission plants in Tremery, Douvrin and Metz, as well as its metal foundry in Mulhouse, he said.
PSA'S factory in Poissy, outside of Paris, which produces small SUVs for DS and Peugeot, will be limited to stamping operations at first, Vincent said.
Plants would open progressively, with production adapted to sales volumes. Showrooms remained closed in some countries, including France and the UK, but had opened in Germany, Vincent said.
French showrooms will be allowed to reopen, subject to regional restrictions, on May 11.
PSA said it would have reinforced health and safety measures at its factories, such as checking the temperatures of employees, and supplying masks, hydro-alcoholic gel and protective glasses, and social distancing between staff.
PSA group sales fell 84 percent in France in April, to just 10,098 registrations, according to industry group CCFA.
The automaker closed its European plants in mid-March as governments introduced coronavirus restrictions, including Opel's factories in Germany, Spain and Poland, and Vauxhall plants in the UK, along with Peugeot, Citroen and DS facilities, on March 16.
The company had originally planned to restart output on March 27. The automaker also closed plants in Morocco and Latin America in March.
Reuters contributed to this report
