Car factories, aftersales allowed to operate in 2nd MCO

Having announced a second implementation of the movement control order yesterday – which will take place over the next two weeks, from tomorrow until January 26 – the government has just released a list of industries allowed to continue operation.

On the automotive side, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has given the green light to manufacturing and assembly plants and the aftersales sector. This is in stark contrast to the implementation of the first MCO, which ran from March 18 to May 3 last year – during which all automotive-related operations were closed until the more relaxed conditional movement control order took effect.

These economic sectors will be subjected to a number of restrictions, including a 30% limit on management working in offices. Employers are free to set the number of support staff and production line workers on-site but are required to comply with strict standard operating procedures.

The news will be beneficial to companies with outstanding vehicle orders like Proton. The national carmaker has been struggling to meet the demand of its new X50 SUV, so keeping its factories open – while shuttering its showrooms – should allow it to catch up with the mountain of orders.

The full movement control order was reinstated in Selangor, Johor, Penang, Melaka, Sabah and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan, after a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. It bans interstate and inter-district travel in these areas and places significant restrictions on work and social activities. As usual, we implore everyone to follow the government’s SOPs and stay home.

The post Car factories, aftersales allowed to operate in 2nd MCO appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.

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