Daimler suspends most of its production in Europe

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Daimler , which owns the Mercedes-Benz luxury car brand, on Tuesday said it will suspend most of its production in Europe for two weeks in an effort to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

“The suspension applies to Daimler’s car, van and commercial vehicle plants in Europe and will start this week,” the Stuttgart-based carmaker said.

Global supply chains currently cannot be maintained to their full extent, it said adding that due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 the economic effects on Daimler cannot be adequately determined or reliably quantified at this time.

“With these closures, Daimler is helping to protect its workforce, to interrupt chains of infection and to contain the spread of the pandemic,” the company said.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Christoph Steitz)