Foreword
During the epidemic in China, many automotive medical equipment making companies gave up their Spring Festival vacation. It made a great contribution to China's epidemic prevention work, while many automobile manufacturers also provided ambulances and other equipment manufacturing. For example, BYD was quick to invest a lot of human, material and financial resources to make medical masks.
The U.S. is facing a tense time with the outbreak, and the U.S. government has communicated with GM and Ford, who said they are in talks with White House officials about how to support the production of medical equipment, such as respirators, that may be necessary to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
GM, whose chief executive Mary Barra spoke with White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow about the issue, is considering production of respirators.
General Motors spokesman Ginuwine said GM "is working to help the nation find a solution during this difficult time and has offered to help, and we're already looking at ways to potentially support the production of medical devices like ventilators."
Ford said Wednesday that it "stands ready to help the government in any way possible, including the possibility of producing ventilators and other equipment. We have had preliminary discussions with the U.S. government and are studying the feasibility."
General Motors and Ford could face major hurdles before they can build a complex medical device like a ventilator, and it's unclear how long that would take to accomplish.
It is hoped that they will soon make substantial moves toward fending off the virus effort, as the Chinese government has done with its automakers.
This article was written by the author of Automotive House Car, and does not represent the views of Automotive House.