Ford China contributes to battle against COVID-19
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the epidemic has evolved rapidly and become a global issue that seriously threatens public health and the global economy. As the Chinese government took urgent and timely actions to control the situation, Ford China also responded quickly to support the community.
At the very beginning, Ford China and its joint ventures (JVs) worked closely with the Chinese authorities and local NGOs to provide aid, donations and support where needed, focusing on the most severely affected areas in Hubei and adjacent provinces. A total of 8 million yuan (US$1.13 million) worth of medical supplies were donated by Ford China and its JVs.
JMC, one of Ford China’s JVs, donated 10 Ford Transit negative pressure ambulances to Wuhan, which became the first group of ambulances to support the newly built Huoshenshan Hospital. The workers of JMC gave up their vacations and rushed to work at full capacity to ensure the sufficient supply of ambulances.
Ford’s commercial vehicle joint venture in China, JMC, has donated 10 Ford Transit ambulance vehicles with negative pressure isolation chamber to Wuhan.
Additionally, Ford placed the highest priority on the health and safety of employees, dealers, customers and partners, as always, during this difficult period. A dedicated team was constantly monitoring the situation, providing employees with regular guidance aligned with directives from relevant government and health authorities.
Following the company, Ford employees also actively contributed to fight against the epidemic. With the assistance of the Ford Volunteer Corps, employees launched a fundraising initiative to donate a negative pressure ambulance for the areas affected by the epidemic.
The initiative received enthusiastic responses from thousands of Ford employees across the country. Less than a week later, more than 360,000 yuan was raised, which was enough to purchase a Ford Transit negative pressure ambulance. Besides the fundraising, Nanjing Ford Volunteer Corps also donated 1,800 N95 medical masks to Nanjing Gulou Hospital, on behalf of all Ford employees, to protect the medical staff combating COVID-19.
On behalf of all Ford employees, Nanjing Volunteer Corps donated 1,800 N95 medical masks to Nanjing Gulou Hospital.
Even though COVID-19 posed significant challenges to the automotive industry, Ford never forgot its dealers and customers. It worked closely with the network of approximately 1,000 dealers across China to explore ways to assist them and care for customers. Both NDSD and Lincoln formulated supportive dealer policies, including sales, funding support and service, to help dealers recover from the negative impact of the outbreak during this difficult period. The tailor-made services, such as cleaning and disinfection of cars and free replacement of air filters were also prepared by Ford and Lincoln to deliver care to customers.
“China is a nation with a rich history of battling adverse conditions, and China has always demonstrated exemplary unity and tenacity when facing extreme challenges,” said Chen Anning, president and CEO of Ford China. “We see unprecedented actions being taken at great lengths in the battle against the virus. In a time like this, Ford is honored to take more responsibility to support the community and deliver excellence for our people, our customers and our partners as a trusted company.”
