Seat producer CarTrim and ES Automobilguss, which makes cast iron parts for gearboxes, had stopped supplies, saying VW had severed a contract which cost them tens of millions of euro.
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The suppliers are seeking compensation following claims they have lost significant revenues, which could run into millions of euros, after Volkswagen cancelled a contract and reportedly withheld payments.
In a bid to resolve the stand-off, the disputing parties held talks into the early hours of Saturday, a VW spokesman told AFP, adding that they decided “jointly to postpone talks to Monday”.
The parent company for the German part suppliers said it was only those two divisions which have disputes with Volkswagen and it hoped the hostilities will be prevented.
Volkswagen announced last week that it had to adjust production for some models, including the Golf and Passat, as a result of a shortfall in seating and gearbox components.
As part of the settlement, VW will continue purchasing parts from Prevent units for at least six years in the future, the people said.
VW in the United Kingdom issued a statement in which it said the company was “working intensively on minimising the acute supply risk, the priority being to maintain production in some areas and to ensure that deliveries can be made to customers”.
The motor giant obtained a court injunction last week to compel the supplier – which VW did not name – to resume deliveries, but that has not been complied with.
A general view shows the Volkswagen production site in Wolfsburg, Germany, April 28, 2016. Germany’s economy ministry has asked for a quick end to the dispute.
Analysts at investment bank UBS have estimated that a one-week production stoppage at Wolfsburg could cut VW’s profits by €100m, while analysts at Commerzbank have put the damage at €70m a week. The Passat assembly factory in Emden has ceased operations, with production scheduled to resume on Wednesday and 7,500 employees coming back to work.
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Volkswagen, which employs more than 600,000 people worldwide, had key facilities, including its main plant in Wolfsburg, laid low by Prevent as a result of the auto maker’s just-in-time manufacturing system. The automaker had already cancelled Golf production shifts on October 4-7 and December 19-22 due to falling demand.
