As of 6:22 p.m. Beijing time on April 29, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia in the world is close to 3.13 million cases, reaching 3,128,692 cases, and the cumulative number of deaths is more than 217,000 cases, reaching 217,082 cases. The United States has the highest number of cumulative confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia in the world, with more than 1.03 million cases to 1,030,315, and more than 58,000 cumulative deaths to 58,670 cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined it as a pandemic, and the inaction of multiple governments has cost the world 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 April 29th global automotive epidemic broadcast
The WHO daily epidemic report shows that as of 10:00 CET on April 28th (16:00 GMT), the number of new diagnosed cases outside of China increased by 76,020 to 286,987,575 cases, and the number of deaths outside of China increased by 3,932 to 197,954 cases. .
Ferrari uses supercar technology to build mask respirators
During the outbreak, all the world's major manufacturing giants turned to start producing medical supplies and equipment such as mask respirators, with Ferrari joining in.
It's been reported that Ferrari has been in talks with respirator maker Siare?Engineering to explore the feasibility of the automaker switching to respirator production.
Currently, Ferrari's Maranello factory at its headquarters is utilizing 3D printing equipment to produce medical equipment including respiratory valves and protective masks, and judging from the pictures that have surfaced on the Internet, the Ferrari-made masks are as "premium" as ever, with the design of a "leaping horse" on top. The Ferrari-made masks are as "high class" as ever, with the "Leaping Horse" logo on them.
It is worth mentioning that this time, the Ferrari-made medical devices will be integrated with the precision technology of supercar manufacturing in order to enhance the craft quality and reliability of respirator products.
In addition, Lamborghini has also begun to join the ranks of the production of masks, the daily output has reached 1,000, while advanced medical protection masks through 3D printing and other means to reach a daily output of 200.
Rolls-Royce gets serious about making honey
Rolls-Royce suspended production at its Goodwood, England, plant in March due to the new coronary outbreak, but its work hasn't stopped. Recently, Rolls-Royce announced that it had set a record for honey production at its headquarters, and with the hard work of 250,000 bees, the company is on track to surpass this year's target for honey production.
Rolls-Royce reportedly opened the Goodwood?Apiary in 2017,*** constructing six wooden beehives, each bearing a polished stainless steel nameplate handmade by the bespoke workshop.
Five of them are named after Rolls-Royce family models: "Phantom", "Obsidian", "Phantom", " Gust," "Obsidian," "Phantom," "Gusto," and "Cullinan," while the sixth is Spirit?of?Ecstasy (Goddess of Celebration). Of course, Rolls-Royce honey doesn't come cheap; it's not sold at an explicit price, but rather serves the brand's customers or guests.
GM suspends dividend and stock buybacks
General Motors said it has suspended its quarterly cash dividend on common stock and halted its stock buyback program in an effort to further conserve cash amid the pandemic of a new coronavirus, according to foreign media reports.
Additionally, GM extended its $3.6 billion three-year revolving credit agreement through April 2022 to further bolster liquidity.Earlier in April GM and its proprietary finance company, GM Financial, also extended its $2 billion 364-day revolving credit agreement through April 2021.
GM last paid a quarterly dividend in early March, when it was 38 cents a share. GM shares are said to have fallen 35 percent in the past three months.
GM's chief financial officer said in a statement, "We continue to improve liquidity in response to the global market uncertainty caused by this outbreak. Further strengthening our cash position and enhancing our balance sheet creates value for all stakeholders."
In addition, GM, Ford, and FCA have all tentatively set resumption schedules, planning to resume production at some U.S. plants on May 18 as the outbreak gradually stabilizes.
But that was met with a warning from the president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), who called the restart of auto production in early May "premature and too risky," posing a risk to workers' health.
This article comes from the authors of the Automobile House car family, and does not represent the views of the Automobile House position.