Autoeuropa production restart

Portugal’s largest car plant Autoeuropa will restart production on October 2 according to a note sent to employees.

The decision was taken after the company managed to find alternatives to its usual parts supplier in Slovenia.
Last week it was announced that Autoeuropa would re-continue production after having guaranteed the supply of a key part for the Volkswagen T-Roc model from Spanish and Chinese companies.
The stoppage and resulting layoff announced earlier this month has ended earlier than had been expected. Autoeuropa had initially announced a nine-week layoff.
Suppliers in Slovenia were affected badly by the torrential rains and flash floods in the region in August.
The plant in Palmela near Lisbon stressed that the production restart would be partial and was thanks to Volkswagen’s logistics and purchasing departments.
Employees who are on a lay-off regime will shortly be informed about the exact date of their return.
Autoeuropa has a large impact on the Portuguese economy, representing 1.5% of GDP. According to data from 2021 the plant employs 5,000 workers and represents around 6% of Portugal’s exports.
In 2022, Autoeuropa registered the second best production year ever with 231,100 units. The best year was in 2019 when 254 vehicles rolled off the production line.