WEF: How the auto industry is responding to COVID-19

As Chinese companies attempt to restart their operations after the recent nationwide shutdown to try to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, it’s clear that the mounting economic effects of the outbreak are leaving their toll on the country’s automotive sector.

China is the world’s biggest car market, and Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak, is known as a “motor city” for being home to auto plants including General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Peugeot Group and Renault. For Honda alone, Wuhan accounts for about 50% of total production in China. In 2019, Hubei Province, of which Wuhan is the capital, was the fourth-largest car producer in China, with about 10% of the country’s car-making capacity and produced 2.24 million vehicles.

But large decreases in car sales and the health risks of operating factories during the pandemic, the auto industry in China is now struggling. But companies are now finding ways to fight back against this crisis.

To read the article in full, please see the World Economic Forum website.