Tesla and Volvo will pause production in Europe after attacks on the Red Sea.

Tesla and Volvo said their assembly lines in Europe will be suspended in coming weeks due to attacks in the Red Sea that have forced cargo ships to take longer routes, disrupting supply chains.

The factory shutdowns, announced at the end of Thursday and Friday, will follow for weeks to attack by the Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group backed by Iran, on ships sailing through the Red Sea, a corridor to the Suez Canal.

“The armed conflicts in the Red Sea and the associated shifts in transport routes between Europe and Asia via the Cape of Good Hope are also impacting production in Grünheide,” Tesla said in a statement. first reported by Reutersreferring to the company's factory in Germany.

Shippers moving goods from Asia to Europe now face the choice of either sending their ships through the Red Sea, if they are willing to risk attack and bear the cost of sharply higher insurance premiums, or an additional 6,000 kilometers around Africa to sail, which gives ten extra days. in each direction and the cost of extra fuel.

“The significantly longer transportation times are creating a gap in supply chains,” Tesla said. The statement said production at the electric vehicle maker's factory outside Berlin would be suspended from January 29 to February 11.

Volvo, majority-owned by Chinese carmaker Geely, said production at its factory in Ghent, Belgium, will be suspended for three days next week because “adjusted sea routes” have delayed deliveries of gearboxes.

The company added that the delay is not expected to impact global retail deliveries or production plans.