Ford Bridgend Engine Plant will continue producing contracted petrol V6 and V8 units for Jaguar Land Rover for as long as it can, the company has told media.
JLR said it had enough parts in stock to build cars until the end of this week at least, possibly longer. It also uses petrol and diesel engines from its own plant in the West Midlands. Nissan has announced today it is suspending production at the UK’s biggest car assembly plant in Sunderland.
Meanwhile, Ford car assembly plants in Europe are shutting this week for an unknown period as they face difficulties in sourcing components and cross border transport is curtailed by Governments anxious not to spread the coronavirus.
Most European car production has or is about to stop because supply chains are broken or they have issues with staff going off sick. Only Volvo in Sweden is carrying on as normal, for now.
In China, some car plants have resumed working after the virus peaked but they may not be able to ship out cars to Europe because of trade restrictions.