Volkswagen Group has stopped the assembly lines of its two factories in China as a result of the restrictions imposed by the country in the wake of another Covid epidemic. Per Automobilwoche, Audi cars are out of production, too, and when the belts might start moving again remains unknown.
Reportedly, the restrictions introduced by the local authorities forced car part vendors to lower their manufacturing volumes. This, in turn, led to the Chengdu plant making localized versions of the Volkswagen Golf, ID.4, T-Roc and Audi Q2 to pause all operation.
Component shortage was also the reason behind the stopping of two out of five lines at the VW Changchun factory where the Audi A4, A6, Q5 and e-tron are made.
Per Japantimes, Honda and Yamaha have likewise stopped their production in Wuhan due to mobility restrictions. BMW, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi and Nissan plants continue operation as usual.
The worst downtimes China-based automakers have seen this year so far were in the spring. However, the new Covid outbreak has already led to the cancellation of multiple auto shows and, among other things, forced carmaker Nio to pause the operation of both of its factories, as they happened to reside within a quarantined zone.