Luxury Automakers to Resume Production After COVID-19 Closures

Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, and other luxury automakers have announced they will resume production at their factories from 4 May onwards following the COVID-19 closures put in place for employee safety.

Having been shuttered since early March to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, luxury automakers including Lamborghini, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley are now returning to their factories to resume production.

Below is an outline of the details around each manufacturers re-openings:

Bugatti – 4 May 2020

In Molsheim, France, Bugatti are back on track to re-start production of hypercars like the Chiron and Divo from 4 May following suspension of all factory activities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Having taken guidance from the French government and international experts, production at the main factory in Alsace will be under strict conditions, and employees that are able to work from home are still encouraged to do so.

In the press release President of Bugatti, Stephan Winklemann explained,  “We will do everything necessary to ensure that our employees are able to work safely. Wherever possible, they can still work from home to ensure that the minimum possible number of employees are on-site at any one time. With the help of the safety measures that we have put in place, we are finally making cars by hand again. That’s an important sign for all of our employees and our customers.”

Bugatti employees working at the factory are encouraged to self test their temperature each morning prior to starting work to ensure they are healthy and symptom-free and will receive their own protective face which must be worn at all times.

Production staff are also required to thoroughly clean tools before and after use and where possible, deliveries will be made without contact.

“I am confident that we have implemented the right measures to allow us to resume production in stages, while also providing the maximum possible protection for our employees,” says Stephan Winkelmann.

Ferrari – 4 May 2020 (full production 8 May 2020)

Like other luxury automakers, Ferrari has announced they will return to the production facilities on 4 May and resume full production by Friday 8 May.

As part of Ferrari’s “Back on Track” program launched early April, the Italian luxury automaker had already moved into the “Installation Lap” phase at the end of April and begun safety training sessions with employees to ensure a safe working environment upon the return to the factories, helping to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

At both the facilities in Maranello and Modena, Ferrari has said they will be providing checks at the entrances of workstations, providing PPE (personal protective equipment) for employees, and also offering voluntary serological tests to workers before going to back to work.

Meanwhile all business activities that can be carried out through remote working will continue as usual in this way.

Koenigsegg

No official statement yet

Lamborghini – 4 May 2020

In a press release from Lamborghini, the Italian company announced they would be resuming car production activities at their Sant’Agata Bolognese location from the 4 May following their closure due to COVID-19 (although certain departments remained open to help manufacture respirators and masks for a local hospital).

Speaking on their current circumstances, Stefano Domenicali, Chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, said: ”We are ready to restart with great energy, but also with strict protocols for safeguarding what is most precious to us: the safety of our people. This priority is why we were the first Italian automotive company to close and continues to be our guiding principle for a well-reasoned and safe recovery, because we still have not won the battle against COVID-19. We will constantly monitor the contagion’s evolution and be ready to adjust our protocols in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Italian government and the Emilia-Romagna Region, which we would like to thank for their support during this sensitive phase.”

Stefano Domenicali also gave fans a great surprise, revealing that Lamborghini would be launching a new model online on 7 May

“We continue to nurture the dreams of our fans and customers, and on 7 May, through a virtual launch, we will present a new car in order to complete our model range. We closed the first quarter of 2020 despite the situation with very positive results. From these results we want to secure our swift return to a leadership position, delivering our vehicles once again as soon as our dealers around the world reopen for business.”

McLaren

While no official statement has been made yet regarding production at their manufacturing facilities, McLaren Automotive has announced that all Pure McLaren driving experiences will be canceled for the remainder of 2020.

Pagani

No official statement yet

Porsche – 4 May 2020

As of Monday 4 May, Porsche will also resume production at factories in Zuffenhausen and Leipzig under the guidance of the Works Council and Health Management department and will increase production in stages up to full-scale capacity in due course.

“The restart is an important signal – for our employees as well as for our customers. We have monitored and analysed the situation very carefully right from the start and flexibly adapted processes. Now is the right time to look forward with optimism and to resume work – subject to special precautions,” says Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG.

Porsche production employees will be required to observe a minimum distance of 1.5 meters and work with a face mask in defined areas.

Also of great importance to Porsche is the ongoing support of medical institutions and medical personnel and as such Porsche will continue organizing equipment as part of the “Porsche helps” initiative and donate money to hospitals as well as food to food banks with an increased food budget of five million euros.

“It will take a great deal of effort to get the economic and social system moving again. Everyone must make a contribution to this,” says Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG. “It is important to have a positive fundamental attitude. Every crisis also offers opportunities. And we want to make the most of them.” The company initially stopped production in its two factories on 21 March 2020 for a period of two weeks and announced that it would continuously reassess the situation. Due to bottlenecks in global supply chains, the factories have remained closed for a total of six weeks because orderly production was not possible.

Bentley – 11 May 2020 (full production by 18 May 2020)

Bentley Motors will be resuming production activities slightly later than most with a phased return to company headquarters at Crewe, England scheduled from 11 May with a full return to production expected by 18 May.

As part of their COVID-19 employee program called “Come Back Stronger”, a set of 250 hygiene and social distancing measures have been put in place to protect the 4000 staff that work at Bentley and cover seven key areas – prior to leaving home, travel, entry, preparing for work, work stations, breaks, and exiting the site.

The “Come Back Stronger” plan marks the biggest change to daily working life in the company’s 100-year history and will require significant changes like redesigning areas of the manufacturing facility to ensure a 2 meter distance at all times between staff and one-way movement paths and traffic flows and introducing a new shift-pattern to minimize the population density on-site at any one time.

Facemasks and protective equipment supplied by Bentley will also be compulsory in all factory and office areas and where possible, staff that can work from home are encouraged to do so.

Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO, Bentley Motors, said: “Throughout this unprecedented crisis, the health and safety of our colleagues has, and will continue to be, paramount. These extensive new working measures will allow both our people and Bentley to come back stronger than ever and even more focused.

“The time is now right for Bentley to begin a gradual and controlled return to production, while ensuring our sites are the safest place any of us can be. Everybody will be able to play their part to ensure we can continue Bentley’s extraordinary journey into the future of luxury, sustainable mobility.”

Full production is anticipated to resume on 18 May with a later, staggered return to work for office-based colleagues and those able to work from home.