Coronavirus: automakers are working to help stop the pandemic

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Manufacturers are organizing to help hospital staff overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. Loan of vehicles, donations and production of masks and ventilators: overview of the various initiatives.

Who says exceptional situation says exceptional measures. After a wave of trade show cancellations and factory closings, the auto industry is trying to help hospital workers as best they can to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

Various actors are mobilizing. We therefore offer you a quick, non-exhaustive overview of their initiatives – not intended to serve as a judgment on the social commitment or expediency of the companies mentioned.

Provision of vehicles

First of all, in order to facilitate the mobility of people engaged in the continuity of the functioning of society and caregivers in particular, certain manufacturers have made vehicles available to them. Opel France For example, offers nursing staff to borrow a courtesy or rental vehicle, for a total of more than 300 cars made available. The brand also offers maintenance at cost price for its customers in the medical profession. This initiative is found across the PSA Group, which has reopened fourteen after-sales sites in France. The French group is also putting electric cars from its mobility subsidiary Free2Move available to Paris hospitals and healthcare professionals.

On the Renault side, the president of the French manufacturer, Jean-Dominique Senard, joined by RTL, announced "think about lending 300 Zoé so that medical personnel can move more easily", specifying that in Switzerland, 200 cars had already been loaned to associations such as the Red Cross. The Renault Group also announced the donation of 50 vehicles fitted out in ambulances in Morocco. In Denmark, the mobility service Green Mobility, Renault partner, provides access to its fleet of Zoé for free for healthcare professionals, with a total of 400 cars. Renault also maintained a limited maintenance and repair activity for "medical vehicles or personnel exercising health professions, fire brigade, police or gendarmerie vehicles, or necessary to maintain the continuity of public service".

Finally, Land rover, which, faced with the impossibility of holding press trials of the new generation of Defender, has made copies of its backpacker available to rescue services and organizations such as the Red Cross.

Equipment donation

Due to the nature of their activities, automobile manufacturers employ certain equipment that may be useful to hospital staff. With factories shutdown, it made sense to let the medical profession take advantage of them. The Renault factory in Flins For example, donated 300 protective suits to André Mignot Hospital in Versailles. They are usually used in paint booths. The Renault Group also donated 120,000 masks to protect members of European hospital services. Group employees were also able to use 3D printers to make visors and masks for healthcare professionals.

The PSA Group donated material with a total of 335,000 masks as of March 23, 2020. Daimler (Mercedes) announced the supply of 110,000 masks and BMW donated 100,000 masks to the Land of Bavaria, Germany. The Volkswagen Group also provided protective equipment: "To guarantee supplies for German doctors and hospitals, the Volkswagen Group is organizing the purchase of medical equipment in China in the short term. The total value of the supplies offered by the Group is approximately 40 million euros. L equipment (masks, gloves, disinfectants, thermometers, goggles and protective clothing, etc.) will be made available to medical personnel responsible for emergency care. Last week, Volkswagen had already donated about 200,000 masks FFP2 and FFP3 for the protection of public health. " (press release dated March 26, 2020). Finally, French equipment supplier Valeo donated 30,000 FFP2 and FFP3 masks to hospitals.

Equipment production

If the manufacturers ’factories no longer produce vehicles, they will not necessarily stop for very long. Thus, some intend to review their activities to produce protective equipment. This is the case with Tesla's New York Gigafactory (Giga New York), which will produce fans as soon as possible, as Elon Musk announced. Still in the United States, GM has partnered with Ventec Life Systems to produce fans in its factories. Ford will produce respirators and ventilators with 3M and GE Healthcare (General Electric). Britain has also reportedly approached the American automaker as well as Vauxhall (Opel), Honda and Jaguar Land Rover, to study the possibility of producing medical equipment in their British factories. "As a British company, we will naturally do our utmost to support our communities in these unprecedented times"said a JLR spokesperson to Automotive News Europe.

Ferrari, whose Maranello plant is currently closed, as well as FCA and Magneti Marelli are in talks with Siare Engineering International, the leading Italian manufacturer of medical ventilators. Fans could be produced at the Maranello plant, says Exor, the Agnelli family holding company that controls FCA and Ferrari, at Corriere della Sera. The Agnelli family also donated 10 million euros to the Italian civil protection department. Finally, seven Formula 1 teams installed in the United Kingdom (Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, BWT Racing Point F1 Team, Haas F1 Team, McLaren F1 Team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, Renault DP World F1 Team and ROKiT Williams Racing) have gathered around the Project Pitlane, aiming to use their know-how to produce medical equipment. The Mercedes-AMG F1 team has already developed a breathing device, called CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure), approved by the National Health Service of the United Kingdom.

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