Ukraine car cable output close to pre-war levels at Leoni

Car cable production at Leoni’s Ukrainian factories is nearly back to normal, according to the German supplier, after production halts caused by the Russian invasion shook the auto industry.

After a “rapid resumption” of production following the outbreak of the war at the end of February, output figures from plants in western Ukraine were “approaching pre-war levels again,” Leoni said in a statement.

Ukraine is the main European supplier of the wiring harnesses that run through cars and act as a sort of central nervous system for the vehicle.

The Russian invasion and the disruption to supplies of the key part led to production stops among Europe’s top auto manufacturers.

The announcement is a sign that something approaching business as usual could be returning for certain companies in Ukraine, after Russia turned its focus away from the central capital Kyiv to the eastern Donbas region.

Leoni, Volkswagen’s biggest supplier in Ukraine, restarted its operations at the beginning of March at its plant near Lviv, where it employs around 7,000 people.

Production figures were dependent on the “number of air raid alarms”, Leoni said.

In the case of such alerts, the provider has rebuilt Soviet-era bunkers near its Ukrainian sites.

Simultaneously, it is investigating the possibility of duplicating manufacturing in other sites as a backup.