VOW3 Volkswagen AG

   By Sarah Sloat 
 

Germany's Audi AG said Friday that it would gradually restart production at its plants in Europe over the coming weeks in coordination with parent company Volkswagen AG.

Volkswagen said earlier this week that it would also resume production at its European sites, starting next week. Audi and Volkswagen had suspended production in Europe in March.

"The main component of the restart is a comprehensive package of measures that focuses on the safety of employees," Audi said. The luxury car maker said it would observe health authority guidelines in Germany and other European countries in its restart.

Separately, Volkswagen released figures Friday showing a deep drop in March deliveries. Volkswagen group deliveries fell 38% in March, with deliveries for both the Volkswagen passenger car and Audi brands also down 38%. Deliveries at Porsche, Volkwagen's sports car unit, fell 11%, while Volkswagen commercial vehicles deliveries fell 40%.

According to Audi's plan, vehicle production at the Audi sites in Europe will be gradually ramped up from the end of April onwards. Engine production in Gyor, Hungary, started gradually ramping up this week, the company said.

In Germany, short-time working regulations will continue to apply to employees who won't be back on the job until later phases of the restart.

Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 17, 2020 05:36 ET (09:36 GMT)

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