China Covid Wave Halts Work at Volkswagen Plant in Chengdu

 

Covid cases have halted production over the past week at the car factory run by Volkswagen and FAW in Chengdu in southwestern China, a VW spokesperson said on Monday.

It has also caused two of the five production lines at Volkwagen’s Changchun plant to be put on hold, because of a lack of available parts, the spokesperson said.

Other plants are stable, but the situation was volatile, they said.

Protests erupted in cities across China over the weekend – in Chengdu, Shanghai, Beijing and Lanzhou, as frustrations mounted over the government’s zero-Covid policy.

While low by global standards, China’s case numbers have hit record highs for days. Chengdu residents have been subjected to mass testing from November 23 to Sunday the 27th.

BMW chief executive Oliver Zipse said on Friday the company’s plants in China were running as normal, but that offices were closed with staff working from home.

Mercedes-Benz did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether its plants were affected.

 

• Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard

 

 

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