SHANGHAI/PARIS — Renault will extend a shutdown at its factory in China’s Wuhan until Feb. 13, in line with the Chinese government’s guidance over the coronavirus for workers in the city, a company spokeswoman said.
Renault’s plant employs about 2,000 people. It had been due to re-open on Feb. 10.
Honda plans to extend the closure period for its three car plants in Wuhan with Dongfeng Group until Feb. 13, a company representative told Reuters on Monday.
Other automakers in the area, including French rival PSA Group, which makes Peugeot cars, have taken similar measures.
Toyota, General Motors, Ford and Volkswagen Group China’s two joint ventures, have halted production until at least Feb. 9. Ford also has ceased all China-related business travel into and out of the country.
Tesla expects a delay of up to a week and a half in the middle of its planned ramp-up of production at its new Shanghai plant — its first outside the U.S.
Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn said Jan. 29 that the delay “may slightly impact profitability for the quarter” and Tesla is monitoring whether there will be supply-chain interruptions for cars built in California.
Robert Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner said the two factories that the world’s largest supplier operates in Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the outbreak, are idle.
The German manufacturer employs 800 people at the sites that make steering components and thermal systems.
“We are monitoring how the situation develops to see if production might be down for longer,” Denner told reporters on Jan. 28 in Stuttgart, Germany. “We’re concerned.” Denner said it might take until February or even March before the virus peaks.
Aptiv, which makes safety and electrification systems for customers including Volkswagen and GM, anticipates auto output will drop 15 percent in China this quarter.
Bloomberg contributed to this report