Volkswagen restarts auto production in Germany with ID.3 electric car

Volkswagen is restarting new-car production in Germany. The VW factory in Zwickau is the first assembly plant to resume operation, and resumes building the ID.3 electric car today. In a release, VW Brand board member Thomas Ulbrich said, “The ID.3 is one of the key vehicle projects for Volkswagen.” The facility will add production of the Golf Variant (wagon) starting next week. The factory will operate at a reduced capacity, turning out 50 cars per day, which is one-third its previous rate of production. The plant has been idled since mid-March.

Among the health-safety protocols being implemented, the workers wear mouth and nose protection when less than 1.5 meters apart and are required to take their own temperature every day before starting work. VW also has increased its cleaning regimens and altered shift-change cadence to create more separation among employees. Bernd Osterloh, who represents factory workers as chairman of the Works Council, said, “With about 100 measures, we are keeping the risk of infection at Volkswagen as low as possible.”

Volkswagen already has restarted manufacturing at 32 of its 33 plants in China. The company has said it plans to bring more of its auto-assembly plants back online beginning the week of April 27, including facilities in Portugal, Spain, and Russia. Some VW components plants already have begun production earlier this month, and Volkswagen claims to have shared with suppliers its worker-safety protocols.

The automaker has announced that its U.S factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will resume operations on May 3, again at a reduced pace. The plant suspended operation on March 21.