Fiat Chrysler is as little as a fortnight away from halting production at one of its European plants because of problems sourcing Chinese parts, the company warned, in the first prospective European car plant shutdown resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. Chief executive Mike Manley said four suppliers in China had been affected by the coronavirus outbreak, with one “critical” maker of parts putting European production at risk. Within two to four weeks the company will know “whether supply will be halted for one of our [European] plants,” he added. Earlier on Tuesday, Volvo Cars said it has switched battery supplier for its hybrid vehicles to keep production running. The Swedish carmaker has deals with China’s CATL and Korea’s LG Chem, and has switched to the Korean supplier following the outbreak.

Source: The Irish Times February 06, 2020 13:52 UTC