The health crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus, which originated in Wuhan in late 2019, has disrupted habits and the economy globally. It has severely affected various sectors, such as the automotive industry. It is encouraging to learn about the initiatives of car manufacturers and brands to fight the Coronavirus.

Many car manufacturers worldwide have been forced to suspend production. However, several well-known industry brands have decided to play a key role in this situation, by helping collapsed healthcare systems.

Some of the measures put in place by car brands to flatten the curve are explained below.

Car brands in Italy: FERRARI and FCA join the fight against the virus

The two giants of the car industry have decided to face together the health crisis in Italy, a country heavily weakened by the Coronavirus, with an average of 700 deaths a day.

The aim of this collaboration is to achieve a production of 150-300 respirators per week.

In this project, the important role of Siare Engineering, an Italian manufacturer of health care machinery, should be highlighted. Also, Magneti Marelli, which is committed to manufacturing breathing machines’ parts and providing assembly support.

In addition, the Fiat Chrysler Company has provided 435 vehicles to facilitate the movement of medical personnel belonging to the Anpas and Italian Red Cross associations.

Car brands in Spain: SEAT and Hyunday

Seat Martorell: from assembling cars to making respirators

In just one week, the Spanish manufacturer has turned SEAT León’s parts production factory into an exclusive area for assisted ventilation systems.

Taking into account that each respirator is composed of some 80 electronic and mechanical elements, the result of the Spanish brand can be considered an unprecedented success, achieved in record time.

Hyundai Spain: #Yocedomicoche

The Hyundai brand, whose factories in Asia have been badly affected by the virus, has not let itself be driven by despair.

In Madrid, it has made part of its vehicles’ fleet available to hospital staff to facilitate movements around the capital.

“Our vehicles are at your disposal” – says the company in its official announcement – “to all the people who by their effort and work are fighting the Coronavirus, thank you very much.”

France: Renault and PSA assist Air Liquide in the artificial respirator’s manufacture

The two well-known car brands plan to produce up to 10,000 respirators in 50 days.

In addition, PSA will offer members of the Research and Development area of the city of Velizy the opportunity to join the Air Liquide plant, located a few kilometers away. These employees will be part of the initiative called “Reservé PSA”, along with other volunteers.

Germany: Volkswagen and Daimler backing for the health sector

Mercedes-Benz offers its 3D printers for the production of medical equipment.

“With our highly competent team and years of experience in 3D printing technology, we are ready to make our contribution to the production of medical devices”, says Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG, Production and Supply Chain.

3D printers are now a crucial tool in the fight against Coronavirus, as they enable the production of urgently needed medical technology components.

Volkswagen has donated 200,000 masks in the FFP-2 and FFP-3 categories to health centres in Lower Saxony, where its headquarters are located, and has imported medical equipment from China worth 40 million euros.

United States: General Motors and Ford give their contribution to respirators production

After arriving in the United States, COVID-19 has transformed the country into the new global epicenter of the virus.

Meanwhile, in New York and Los Angeles, 2 of the most tech advanced hospital ships have arrived to assist in the invisible war. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo says that in 45 days, 37,000 respirators could be needed in the Big Apple alone (against an availability of 3,000), and General Motors and Ford are working to find a solution to the rapid and massive production of the medical material. 

In particular, Ford plans to produce 50,000 new respirators in 100 days. At the same time, full-face visors are being tested to protect healthcare operators.

COVID19: a “race” against time

We are undoubtedly in a race against time where it is necessary to focus all efforts and production on overcoming this global health crisis. Fortunately, there is no lack of initiatives in the automotive sector to combat COVID-19.

Just as car brands are fighting the Coronavirus, we at Lever Touch want to make a contribution in the future. Offering services that help to sanitize vehicles would provide additional service and security to all our customers.