Bottlenecks in the auto industry: plants have to close due to border controls

Sunday February 14th 2021

Bottlenecks in the auto industry
Plants have to close due to border controls

Due to the border controls announced at short notice, the auto industry is facing a problem: production in some plants will have to be stopped tomorrow due to significant delivery problems. According to the industry association, this can only be prevented with looser entry regulations.

The German auto industry fears significant delivery problems and plant closings this Monday due to the controls and corona test obligation at several borders that have been in force since Sunday. Due to the expected problems at the border crossings, automobile production will largely come to a standstill from Monday noon, said a spokesman for the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) in Berlin. "The plants in Ingolstadt, Regensburg, Dingolfing, Zwickau and Leipzig are the first to be affected." The auto industry demands that until sufficient test capacities have been built at the borders, but at least for the next four days, to dispense with a medical test confirmation and to allow self-rapid tests for drivers as an alternative.

After the spread of new virus variants, Germany tightened the rules for entry from EU countries again and sometimes ordered controls at the border. Since Sunday, only Germans, foreigners with a residence and residence permit in Germany, seasonal agricultural workers and health workers have been allowed to enter Austria from the Czech Republic and large parts of Tyrol. Entry into Germany should be possible for a few exceptions, including "personnel involved in goods transport and other necessary transport personnel".

According to the information, exemption privileges for transport employees are no longer applicable, so that they – like every normal traveler – have to carry a negative test result when entering the country. The federal government also classified Slovakia as an area with particularly dangerous virus mutations. According to the VDA, truck drivers have to show a negative corona test result from the last 48 hours. This must be confirmed by a doctor and be available in three languages. "We understand vigorous measures, but this new test requirement for truck drivers cannot be implemented at such short notice," said the VDA spokesman.

The German automotive industry is supplied just-in-time from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and northern Italy, i.e. only when there is an actual need – but also just-in-sequence, that is, deliveries in exactly the quantity required for production and order. The components would be delivered directly to the assembly line, it said. "If the component doesn't get through, the belts come to a standstill." Due to the measures announced at short notice, it was not possible to create appropriate stocks.