Toyota, VW Postpone Vehicle Manufacturing Openings

Toyota and Volkswagen in the United States have announced they are postponing the opening of some of their manufacturing operations as they reassess safety risks and supplier readiness in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Both automakers, along with other vehicle manufactures in North America, suspended manufacturing operations in March an effort to combat the spread of the virus.

In a release on Volkswagen’s U.S. Media Site, the company said that:

“Volkswagen Chattanooga has reassessed plans to resume production May 3. Before setting a new start date, Volkswagen will weigh the readiness of the supplier base, as well as market demand and the status of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Company will continue the work to start production from an organizational perspective, and refine and strengthen the health and safety measures to safeguard our employees.”

Toyota announced on its North America Newsroom website that:

“Based on an extensive review with our supplier and logistics network, Toyota will postpone its ramp up of its North American manufacturing operations from the week of May 4 to the week of May 11. As previously stated, Toyota intends to gradually resume its manufacturing operations in compliance with federal health and safety guidelines, and local and state ordinances where our facilities are located. The health and safety of our employees and stakeholders remain a top priority and we have implemented new protocols at all of our North American manufacturing plants to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We will continue to follow all safety guidelines and monitor vehicle demand as we carefully ramp up production.”

Source: https://bit.ly/3kRulzw