Slump halts car plants

01st December 2008

Car plants are grinding to a halt in the wake of falling sales. The gates to 68 factories worldwide will close as demand slumps.

In the UK alone, Honda will shut its Swindon site for two months after Christmas. Nissan has cut the working week at its Sunderland factory to three days, while Ford and MINI plants in Southampton and Oxford will close for the next month.

Land Rover’s Solihull facility, Bentley’s site in Crewe and Vauxhall’s bases are extending festive shutdowns by two weeks, too. Ford, Chrysler and GM are closing 35 US plants for limited periods, while PSA and Renault are shutting sites in France and Spain for two weeks. Plus, seven Fiat factories in Italy will have an extended Christmas closure.