Day 2: Production paused

Editor's note: Luca Ciferri, editor and associate publisher of Automotive News Europe, is living under quarantine at his Italian home in Villastellone, just south of Turin. He will be filing daily updates in this blog post.

For the second consecutive day very few vehicles are being produced in Italy. Only Ferrari is still building its supercars, but the staff at its plants in Maranello and Modena plants has been reduced to a minimum, the company said.

Volkswagen Group's Lamborghini plant has halted production for nearly two weeks.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' four assembly plants stopped regular production on Wednesday. The aim of the shutdowns is to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 1,000 people here.

The difficult question is: When will production resume?

It may be a while because to prevent the contagion's spread without choking the economy, the Italian government wants people to work from home whenever possible. However, some industrial activities can continue as long as stricter safety and hygiene measures are followed.

Supply and delivery of parts continues. Two weeks ago production was halted at electronics specialist MTA, which is located in Codogno, one of Italy's first “red zones” that were closed in the early phase of the outbreak.

This week production is running smoothly, MTA said.

How long output will last is anyone's guess because demand is collapsing in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. Belgium, France and Ireland have begun implementing virus prevention measures such as closing schools, something that in Italy starting doing last month. Schools here will be shut until at least April 3.

New-vehicle registrations for March are forecast to be roughly 20 percent below last year, industry sources told Automotive News Europe.