Volvo Cars to resume production in Sweden next week

Volvo Cars will restart its Torslanda factory and offices in Sweden next week after overhauling its production processes to help avoid coronavirus infections, after a three week shutdown led by the pandemic, the automaker stated on Friday.

Volvo’s factory located in Ghent, Belgium, will restart on 20 April, but at decreased production output and the automaker prepares to reopen its South Carolina plant in the United States on Monday 11 May after embracing sanitation and cleaning routines.

“We have introduced new health measures. We will work with gloves and masks in the areas where we come too close. The production rate will depend on the market. We can produce at full speed, but this depends on the orders,” CEO Hakan Samuelsson told Reuters.

The Swedish automaker, which is owned by China’s Geely Holding, has a good order intake, but three weeks’ worth of production has been lost, Samuelsson stated.

As the European economy has ground to a halt, the automaker will continue to make use of shortened working hours, Samuelsson added.

In Sweden, the layout in all meeting rooms, office spaces and restaurants has been adjusted to permit social distancing, making sure that desks are spaced out and limiting the amount of people allowed in meeting rooms and restaurants.

Workers in Sweden can also take voluntary temperature tests and measure their blood oxygen levels. Office employees in other markets will continue to adhere to the local guidelines.

The engine plant located in Skoevde, Sweden, and the body component manufacturing site located in Olofstroem, Sweden will continue to plan their production on a weekly basis and adapt according to requirements in the other plants, Volvo stated.

About 14,385 people in Sweden have been confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus. The virus has killed 1,540 people in the country.