IN the eastern city of Yuyao, a group of five face-masked workers at a Geely auto plant, stood almost shoulder to shoulder behind an SUV as they conducted paint and other quality checks. That scene would not have been possible a month ago. Car manufacturers in China have begun to ease strict physical distancing rules as the coronavirus outbreak is now contained. The most significant rule to be relaxed has been the requirement that production line workers stand at least 1 meter apart. “Workers need to work together to check the quality of the job,” said Shen Qingguang, safety manager at Geely’s Yuyao plant where some 1,000 workers build sport utility vehicles for its Lynk & Co. marque. Employees often need to work together on the final assembly line in particular, he added. But where working close together is not deemed necessary, the 1 meter rule still applies and Geely office staff must work 1.5 meters apart. For Tesla Inc.’s Shanghai plant, workers were required to maintain a distance of 1 meter in February but like many other China plants, that rule has now been eased. At Beijing Benz Automotive Co., a Daimler venture with China’s BAIC Group, the 1 meter rule has also been relaxed for production line staff and workers wearing face masks could be seen working near each other. Chinese auto production is by and large back on track, climbing 2.3 percent in April from the same month a year earlier to 2.1 million vehicles. Vehicle sales also grew, up 4.4 percent for their first rise in 22 months. Geely said its Yuyao plant had managed to return to full capacity in early March. (SD-Agencies) |