China EV maker Nio suspends production due to supply chain disruptions

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio said on Saturday it has suspended production after the country’s measures to contain the recent surge of COVID-19 cases disrupted operations at its suppliers.

“Since March, due to reasons to do with the epidemic, the company’s supplier partners in several places including Jilin, Shanghai and Jiangsu suspended production one after the other and have yet to recover,” the company said on its mobile app.

“Due to the impact of this Nio has had to halt car production.”

The company will postpone deliveries of the EVs to users and will work together with the suppliers to strive for resumption while meeting the government’s COVID curbs, it added.

China has been taking strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant in several places including Jilin province and Shanghai where plants of major auto part makers and automakers are located.

Tesla has also suspended production at its Shanghai plant since March 28, Reuters reported, after the city started a two-staged lockdown which was later expanded citywide.

Volkswagen’s joint venture plant with FAW Group in Changchun, the provincial capital of Jilin, has been shut since mid-March, while its plant in Shanghai with SAIC Motor has been closed since April 1.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan, and Brenda Goh; Editing by Michael Perry)