The new coronavirus is still spreading around the world, and as of 19:00 Beijing time, the world's cumulative number of confirmed cases of new coronavirus pneumonia exceeded 220,000 cases. More than 160 countries and regions outside of China have accumulated more than 140,000 confirmed cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined it as a pandemic, and the inaction of multiple governments has caused the world to lose a valuable window of opportunity, which has once again hit the global auto industry hard.
What is the global impact of the pandemic on the auto industry? How will the automobile companies cope with the new crown epidemic? How will the upstream and downstream of the industry chain overcome the difficulties? How will the global automotive industry move forward? Auto Headline APP retrieves foreign media reports and launches a new column "Auto Enterprise Epidemic Map" to restore the latest news of the global auto industry every day.
This issue is the global auto industry epidemic broadcast on March 20
World Health Organization director-general Tandace said that there are now more than 200,000 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia and more than 8,000 deaths globally, but for the first time, China has reported no new confirmed cases, which is "an astonishing achievement". But the world's fight against the epidemic continues.
French government may 'nationalize' PSA and Renault to tide them over
As we all know, PSA has closed its European plants until March 27, and Renault has shut down its industrial parks in France and its plants in Spain, in the wake of the epidemic.
And the current France, the form of the epidemic is also very serious, local time on the 19th, the French Ministry of Health announced that the new coronary patients 1861 new patients, the cumulative diagnosis of 10,995 cases, of which 4,461 cases admitted to hospitalization, 1122 cases of severe disease, death 372 cases.
Under the disaster, the government's action becomes particularly important, especially the impact of the automobile industry, perhaps also more in need of a timely arm.
Recently, according to Reuters, the French government will provide PSA and Renault with loan guarantees and wiggle room to defer tax payments to help them weather the storm during the outbreak.
France is said to have unveiled a series of measures this week to help companies cope with the outbreak, including 300 billion euros ($325 billion) in government loan guarantees, as well as measures such as tax deferral and delayed payment of payroll costs for those in need.
Additionally, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said France would take more measures, such as state bailouts and nationalizations, if necessary to ensure that large companies survive, but the exact steps and plans have not been announced.
Six car companies announced in 24 hours that they would co-produce respirators
The shift in production of medical supplies and equipment by car companies in the wake of the epidemic is nothing new.
On March 18, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. announced that they were in talks with White House officials about how car companies could assist in the production of medical equipment, such as ventilators, to help fight the epidemic.
After GM announced that it was suspending its production plans in North America on the 30th of this month, CEO Mary Borah expressed to White House officials that she wanted to switch to the production of respirators in order to help the country through tough times, according to Reuters.
And Ford also said on the 18th that it stands ready to help the government in any way it can, including by producing other equipment such as respirators, and is already actively exploring the feasibility of this with the government.
It is worth mentioning that Musk, who has always been indifferent to the epidemic, and even tweeted that "panic about the epidemic is stupid," has also expressed his willingness to produce ventilators, saying that if there is a shortage, Tesla will also be a member of the production of ventilators. He also said that it is not difficult to build them, although they can't be made immediately.
On the other hand, in Britain, where the outbreak is equally dire, supercar maker McLaren has also announced that it will look into manufacturing respirators. This comes on the heels of a March 17 announcement by Vauxhall, Honda and Toyota, three carmakers in the U.K., to turn on production of respirators, and the U.K. becoming the first country in Europe to call on its domestic carmakers to switch to the production of medical devices.
And in Italy, where the outbreak has been most severe, automakers Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on March 19 that they were in talks with the country's largest maker of ventilators to help boost production of the life-saving machines that have been desperately needed in the coronavirus crisis.
Italy was reported to have accumulated 41,035 confirmed cases and 3,405 deaths as of local time on March 19, with the number of deaths surpassing that of China.
According to incomplete statistics, together with the previous Jaguar Land Rover, there are now at least 10 car companies have joined the ranks of the production of respirators, and this number may continue to grow.
Audi, Ford, Kia shutdowns underway
The shutdowns necessitated by the outbreak's prevention and control are still underway today as well.
Volkswagen Group's Audi brand said its plant in the Mexican state of Puebla will be shut down from March 23 to April 13 due to the impact of the outbreak, which has hit the company's global supply chain, Reuters reported.
In addition, Audi's Hungarian plant has also been rumored to be shutting down production previously. Volkswagen Group plants in Italy, Spain, Slovakia and Portugal are currently shut down.
And VW has also said that most of its other plants in Europe, including those at its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, will begin shutting down for 2-3 weeks starting this week.
It's worth noting that Audi's Brussels, Belgium, plant is also struggling to keep up with production at the moment, with a number of workers giving up work for fear of their health.
On the other hand, Ford has also said it is suspending production of cars and engines at its manufacturing plants in continental Europe from March 19 due to the outbreak, and expects the closure to last for several weeks. In addition, Ford's Turkish plant will also suspend production for two weeks.
This follows the temporary suspension of production at Ford's Valencia assembly and engine plant in Spain due to the diagnosis of three workers. And in the U.S., a product developer at the automaker's Dearborn, Michigan, facility has also been diagnosed with the virus, but the employee has been working from home for several days, and a spokeswoman said there was no danger to anyone who ****ed with the employee.
Also, Hyundai Kia is shutting down production at its plants in Eastern Europe for two weeks starting Monday because of the impact of the outbreak and a drop in demand for its cars.
This article comes from the authors of the AutoZone, and does not represent the viewpoint position of AutoZone.