Volkswagen Postpones Restart of China Joint Venture Production

(Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG has postponed the resumption of production at its China joint ventures, in the latest sign of the coronavirus’s impact on economic activity.

The carmaker cited limited travel options for its employees and said in a statement that its own supply chains were in the early stages of re-starting after production stopped for national holidays at the end of January. That break was extended as the virus spread.

SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co. postponed production at its factories by seven days until Feb. 17, except for one plant in Shanghai, which will restart on schedule on Feb. 10. Most vehicle production at FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co. will also restart on Feb. 10, one day later than announced end of January. Its plant in Tianjin will not repoen until Feb. 17.

Other carmakers, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., have already announced extensions of their production shutdowns in China. Tesla Inc. will resume production at its factory in Shanghai on Feb. 10.

Separately Saturday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., one of the main suppliers to iPhone maker Apple Inc, was also reported to have called off plans to resume production on Feb. 10.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander Kell in Frankfurt at akell@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Schaefer at dschaefer36@bloomberg.net, Michael Hunter, Christopher Elser

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