Jaguar Land Rover sets date for factory re-opening
Three plants will re-open in May.
Jaguar Land Rover is aiming to restart production in Europe next month. Its factories in Solihull and Wolverhampton in England, as well as its plant in Nitra, Slovakia are expected to reopen on May 10 according to Automotive News Europe.
Resumption of production in Nitra is of particular interest, with manufacturing of the new Defender taking place there. Deliveries of the hotly anticipated model are expected to commence later this year. Solihull meanwhile handles the production of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models.
Third party Magna Steyr, which builds the I-Pace electric SUV in Austria, will also resume production, but Jaguar Land Rover's own plants in Castle Bromwich in the Midlands and Halewood near Liverpool will remain closed, and will open when buying conditions improve.
"As countries are relaxing distancing guidelines and retailers are reopening around the world, the restart of production at our other plants will be confirmed in due course,"Jaguar Land Rover said in a statement.
The partial resumption of production for Jaguar Land Rover comes as car sales in China start to steadily pick up as the country begins to recover from the coronavirus crisis. The company's Chinese plants already restarted production back in February.
"As countries are relaxing distancing guidelines and retailers are reopening around the world, the restart of production at our other plants will be confirmed in due course," the Jaguar Land Rover said.
It also said that it would introduce stringent safety and social distancing measures when the factories re-open.
Gallery: Jaguar Land Rover Solihull production
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