Toyota, Volkswagen and Tesla are bringing factories in China back on line

By Laura He, CNN Business

Toyota and Volkswagen are gradually bringing their China factories back on line after they were closed for weeks because of Covid lockdowns.

Toyota said on Monday it’s preparing to resume operations in Changchun, Jilin province — one of China’s largest auto manufacturing hubs — following a month-long pause.

“We have been gradually preparing to resume operations in our Changchun plant since late last week,” the Japanese automaker said in a statement. “However, the timing for full-scale operation has yet to be determined,” it added.

Toyota suspended production at its Changchun factory on March 14.

Volkswagen on Monday restarted production in its Changchun plants, which it also closed in mid-March.

But its Shanghai factory, which it runs in partnership with state-owned automaker SAIC, remains closed.

“The feasibility of SVW Anting plant [in Shanghai] resumption is under evaluation,” Volkswagen said in a statement.

Tesla was reportedly preparing to resume production at its Shanghai plant on Monday following a three-week stoppage, according to Reuters.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comments by CNN Business.

China’s worst Covid outbreak in two years has prompted authorities to ramp up the country’s zero-Covid policy, locking down several major cities and tens of millions of people.

The strict lockdowns in places such as Shanghai and Jilin have risked delaying shipments at a time when global demand for vehicles is strong.

The stringent Covid curbs have dealt a blow to economic activity. Government statistics showed Monday that consumption slumped in March, while unemployment rose, casting a shadow over the economic outlook.

The Jilin government announced over the weekend that it would allow companies to resume work and production, after it declared victory eliminating community spread of the coronavirus outside quarantined areas.

Shanghai, the epicenter of the current Covid outbreak, has been under a lockdown for more than three weeks.

In an attempt to ease disruption, the Shanghai government on Friday published a “white list” of 666 companies that will be allowed to resume production. Nearly 40% are automakers, or companies involved in supplying the auto industry. But it’s unclear exactly when those companies will be able to resume production.

— CNN’s Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

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