Car makers jump-start their plants back to life

FORD and Vauxhall are set to open their plants next week, with thousands of furloughed employees returning to work.

With car factories mothballed since the lockdown was introduced in March, the industry is slowly spluttering back into life having been hammered during the crisis.

Ford announced its engine plants in Bridgend, Wales and Dagenham in Essex would open from Monday.

Vauxhall is opening its plant in Luton, which makes the Vivaro van, the same day – to cater for demand from France and Germany, which has remained high as the need for delivery vehicles has increased.

Roughly half of its 1,600 workers will return to the factory, with shifts cut from three to one.

Staff at Toyota’s plant in Deeside, North Wales and Bentley’s factory in Crewe returned this week. But Vauxhall said it is keeping its Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, which makes the Astra, closed.

The manufacturer, which is owned by French giant PSA Group, is still waiting for clarity from the Government over when car showrooms can reopen. Until that happens, it said there is little point reopening Ellesmere Port as there is nowhere to sell its cars.

Industry figures last week show car sales fell 97 pc last month.

Vauxhall’s managing director Stephen Norman expressed frustration, saying: ‘I was very surprised to see estate agents allowed to show prospective customers around houses. There are many similarities – customers browse online and contact the retailer to make an appointment.

‘Yet new vehicle showrooms are open, clean spaces and the stringent health and safety processes that we will have in place will ensure, to the best of our ability, the safety and security of our customers and employees.’

Strict safety protocols have been introduced to protect staff from catching the Covid-19 virus, ranging from handing out face masks to employees to taking their temperatures at the factory gates.