Production in China is gradually resuming, with a growing number of key assembly and tier supplier plants having restarted production over the last three weeks. In the Hubei province, which is the centre of automotive manufacturing but also the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, operations are now not expected to recommence until at least the end of April, though this remains subject to local authority recommendation; most carmakers will only say cautiously that they are continuing to monitor the situation.

The delay in production in Hubei could go some way to alleviate the struggle underway to secure adequate capacity for outbound parts shipments. There remains a backlog of material to be shipped from the ports and full airfreight services are not expected to return to normal until the end of the March. For the next month European carmakers well be relying almost entirely on airfreight to move parts sourced in China to factories in Europe now running short on supply, though emergency logistics providers have been working hard to expedite critical shipments throughout the crisis.