Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Cars announced on Sept. 29 that they will suspend their respective plants in South Carolina, U.S., due to a massive storm that is approaching. Prior to that, the storm had already caused massive damage in the U.S. and resulted in at least seven deaths.
Volvo Cars’ South Carolina plant, which employs 1,500 workers, has stopped production of its S60 model at about 11 a.m. local time on Sept. 29. A company spokesman said the plant will shut down for the entire day on Sept. 30, with production scheduled to resume on Oct. 2.
Spokespeople for both Volvo and Polaris brands said the shutdown is not expected to have any impact on the planned production launch of the Volvo EX90 and Polaris Polestar 3 high-end large electric SUVs.
Photo credit: Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz also said its Ladson plant outside Charleston, S.C., will suspend production on Sept. 30 as a safety precaution. The plant, which employs about 1,600 people, is responsible for producing the Mercedes Sprinter and Metris vans.
A BMW spokesman said its plant in Spartanburg, S.C., was not affected because it was far enough away from the storm’s path.
The South Carolina Ports Authority said the seaports of Charleston and Georgetown will close all marine terminals on Sept. 30. Tropical Storm Ian is forecast to return to hurricane strength over the Atlantic Ocean and hit South Carolina on Sept. 30 with a strength that could pose a threat to the lives of local residents.
The governors of South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia declared a state of emergency in each state before Ian’s arrival.
Florida said more than 2.6 million homes and businesses in the state would be without power and some grids would have to be completely rebuilt. It remains unclear exactly how many people were killed in the storm. U.S. President Joe Biden (Joe Biden) said early indications are that the disaster could result in a large number of deaths. In Florida, Ian’s damage is estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars, while AccuWeather’s predicted losses amount to $100 billion.
