Aston Martin to temporarily shut UK plants

Aston Martin said it will suspend production at its U.K. manufacturing facilities starting Wednesday until April 20 to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

The luxury automaker operates two plants in the UK. Its Gaydon plant in central England builds sports cars, while its new plant in St Athan, south Wales, produces the company's new DBX SUV.

Aston Martin said in a news release that the manufacturing suspension is initially planned to last until Monday, April 20 but it will continue to review the situation and "will look to resume operations as soon as it is reasonable to do so."

The company said that the outbreak has increased the risks to its financial performance in 2020 as only two thirds of its global dealer network is currently operating. 

Aston Martin joins Bentley, Vauxhall, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota and Honda in pausing vehicle production in the U.K. because of the pandemic. Ford is stopping output at its engine plants in Dagenham near London and Bridgend, Wales.

Automotive News Europe contributed to this report.