Volkswagen’s boss Herbert Diess surprised exactly no one on Sunday when he announced that the company might have to let its factories stay closed for more than the originally announced two weeks. The company produces 12 different brands of cars around Europe, including Škoda, Seat, Bugatti and Porsche. “The spread of the virus won’t stop in just a couple of week,” he said. “That’s why we need to be prepared to live with this threat in the long-term until there’s an effective treatment or vaccine available.” Germany had registered nearly 25,000 cases of COVID-19 by March 23 and all of the countries it produces automobiles in were seeing steep rises in infection rates. BMW has announced that it was pushing back its targeted Easter re-opening of plants until at least April 29.
