VW re-opens with cartoon logo declaring coronavirus defeat

Video Credit: Reuters Studio
Published on April 27, 2020 - Duration: 01:29s

VW re-opens with cartoon logo declaring coronavirus defeat

Volkswagen restarted production at its Wolfsburg factory in Germany on Monday (April 26), becoming the latest among a raft of European manufacturers to take advantage of eased lockdown procedures to reboot output.

Francis Maguire reports.


VW re-opens with cartoon logo declaring coronavirus defeat

Volkswagen restarted production at its Wolfsburg factory on Monday (April 27).

The German auto firm celebrated in quirky style, projecting images of VW branding onto the factory walls.

The logo wore a face mask and even appeared as Pac-Man eating coronavirus germs. VW is the latest in a number of European car manufacturers to restart production as lockdown rules have been slowly eased.

European factories have changed work patterns, with more hygiene and cleaning intervals.

There's also more spacing between workers.

VW rivals BMW and Daimler have also banked on Germany's ability to trace and contain the virus.

BMW says it is ramping-up production from Monday, and also wants to reopen plants in the UK and U.S. in early May.

Workers will need to wear masks and keep a distance from one another.

Mercedes-Benz plans to increase production at two of its German plants.

Elsewhere in Europe, FiatChrysler opened a plant in central Italy on Monday.

The Italian-American carmaker aims to resume production at a rate of between 70%-80%.

Toyota and Renault also restarted production in France last week.

Europe stands in contrast with the U.S., where the head of the United Auto Workers union said last week it was โ€œtoo soon and too riskyโ€ to reopen auto plants in early May.

They blamed insufficient coronavirus testing.

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