Car transport and logistics company SIA “Kurbads un ko” (“Kurbads”) has applied for downtime benefit to about 40% of employees, the company’s representative Sintija Bērziņa informed.
She explained that a large number of car manufacturers have resumed or plan to resume operations in the near future, but this does not alleviate the difficult situation in the car industry. Car manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Ford, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and others have resumed production in Europe. As demand for new cars remains low, production volumes are not picking up much.
“Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict whether the demand for new cars will increase at the previous level in the near future. At present, it is too early to judge the time and pace at which the volume of car transportation will increase,” Bērziņa said.
The company explained that the transport capacity is higher than the available cargo on the market, so there is a lot of pressure on transport prices. Bērziņa pointed out that there will be a negative impact on the industry as a whole, because transportation is performed at a price that covers wages and fuel costs, without providing any additional costs for repairs, maintenance, depreciation and other items.
Of the types of support offered by the Latvian state, Kurbads has used the loan of the Development Financial Institution Altum and the possibility to defer tax payments. The company has used the opportunity to apply for downtime benefits, which are granted and paid by the State Revenue Service (SRS). “Kurbads” has applied for downtime benefit for about 40% of employees, thus saving as many jobs as possible, so that immediately after the end of the crisis it would be possible to continue working at full capacity, “said Bērziņa.
A spokeswoman for the company said that after the emergency, Kurbads expected economic stimulus measures from the government – subsidies for the purchase of electric cars, support for the replacement of old cars with new ones, similar to what is being implemented in Germany. Bērziņa explained that the German government and car companies will increase subsidies for the purchase of electric cars, the project will be implemented until 2025, and its costs will be covered by the German government and companies.
She also explained that new European Union funds would be useful for stimulating the economy, for example, support for construction, renovation, starting a business, development. In turn, the transport sector would benefit from a reduction in excise duty, similar to what is planned to be introduced in Estonia.
Bērziņa said that “Kurbads” will fight the consequences of the crisis caused by Covid-19 and plans to reach about 70% of the turnover before the Covid-19 crisis by the end of the summer.
The company “Kurbads un ko” was registered in 1995, and its share capital is 152,224 euros, according to “Firmas.lv” information. The company’s financial data for 2019 have not been published yet, but in 2018 the company’s turnover was 9.751 million euros, but the profit – 686,524 euros. The sole owner of “Kurbads un ko” is Andis Pikāns.
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