Volkswagen will consider moving more of its production outside of Europe if the conflict in Ukraine continues, its chief executive said, as the continent’s largest carmaker struggles to secure crucial supplies from parts manufacturers in the war-torn country.
“We have to think about additional investments in the US and overseas,” Herbert Diess told reporters on Tuesday. He said VW had already shifted production of up to 100,000 units to the Americas and China, in order to bypass supply bottlenecks.
Last week, Diess told the Financial Times that a prolonged war could have a larger impact on the global economy than the coronavirus pandemic, which shut car plants for weeks.