Region's car makers suspend production until late April

Published by

Nicky Godding

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which is headquartered at Garden in Warwickshire, and BMW MINI's Cowley and Swindon plants have both suspended production. JLR says its intends to resume during the week of 20 April, subject to review of the rapidly-changing circumstances. BMW MINI intends to resume on 17 April.

A statement from JLR said: "As a responsible business, Jaguar Land Rover is operating in line with advice from the NHS and Public Health England to minimise the spread of the coronavirus, whilst implementing plans to safeguard its business continuity. The company will work towards an orderly return to production once conditions permit."

Currently, Jaguar Land Rover’s manufacturing plants in Brazil and India continue operating. The company’s joint venture plant in China reopened in the week of 24 February, as life begins to get back to normal in the country.

A statement from BMW MINI said: "This decision is the culmination of a number of factors that are affecting the automotive industry at this time, namely the protection of the health and well-being of our employees, the potential for disruption to our suppliers and to a decline in global market demand. Our workforce is central to our company’s success and we are doing everything we can to support them at this time."

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.