Automakers shift gears amid virus battle
With demand for automobiles in China badly dented by the coronavirus outbreak, automakers have retooled production lines to make masks and other medical supplies critical in the fight against the epidemic.
Demand for masks has been rising both in China and around the world as the outbreak spreads. Returning auto workers can take pride in joining the national campaign to beat the virus into submission.
“Auto companies have turned existing facilities, such as dust-free workshops, to make masks,” said Zhang Xiaofeng, an independent market analyst. “The impact of the shift has been good. People are assured about the quality of masks because they have been tested to meet government standards.”
Turning auto workshop into mask-making facilities, in a sense, keeps factories buzzing as car sales fizzle.
China’s auto sales and production have been affected by the coronavirus. Retail sales of passenger cars plunged 92 percent, year on year, in the first 16 days of February, according to China Passenger Car Association.
Production at car-making facilities is below capacity at present. For car manufacturers actively participating in the epidemic campaign, production of medical supplies and manufacture of cars are going on simultaneously.
Automakers are either working with suppliers who produce the masks or refitting some of their assembly lines to produce masks themselves.
In response to government calls for help from all industry quarters, car manufacturers have shown adroitness in making the conversion to a product outside their normal realm of production.
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile achieved production capacity of 500,000 masks a day by mid-February, and 15 production lines to manufacture 2 million masks a day were in operation by the end of February.
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co, a joint venture between General Motors Co and two Chinese partners, announced in early February that it would produce masks jointly with suppliers. Two days later, the first batch of 200,000 masks rolled off the production line, and four days later, the joint venture set up its own mask production line.
The government has lent its assistance to the effort by stop-gap policies, such as speeding up the approval process for medical production licenses. Medical masks must be produced by certified companies.
The national government has opened “green channels” for participating automakers. Local governments, too, are helping carmakers contact suppliers of raw materials in an effort to expedite production.
Automakers bring certain advantages to the task. Masks need to be produced in a clean factory environment, and most automakers maintain high requirements on factors such as temperature and humidity. Car workshops have to be clean. A little dust may damage the painting process, for example.
Raw materials are also important. Car manufacturers have turned to their suppliers of sound-absorbing cotton, a non-woven fabric, for mask-making material.
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile achieved production capacity of 500,000 masks a day by mid-February, and 15 production lines to manufacture 2 million masks a day were in operation by the end of the month.
“Our team completed a series of tasks to produce masks in just three days, including workshop revamp, equipment installation, company registration and enterprise standard formulation,” said Zhou Xing, marketing director of sales company of SAIC-GM-Wuling.
The venture formed a core team of more than 120 experts and technicians to set up mask production machinery, which normally might take 10 days but took only 76 hours. The company said that it plans to greatly increase production capacity.
SAIC-GM-Wuling has developed an intelligent vehicle that uses artificial intelligence to measure human temperatures.
The automaker also developed two intelligent “vehicles,” which use artificial intelligence to measure human temperatures, and turned out self-driving vehicles that can be used to disinfect plants and other facilities.
Shenzhen-based electric carmaker BYD also started production of masks and disinfectants in mid-February. The carmaker said it expected output to rise to 5 million masks and 50,000 bottles of disinfectant by the end of February. The masks will be donated to hospitals and local governments.
Guangzhou Automobile Group Co completed the installation and testing of mask production equipment and refitting of its workshops on February 17. Production started three days later. The company said it was turning out about 1 million masks a day by the end of the month.
Auto companies stung by the coronavirus fallout are providing subsidies and some discounts to car buyers to make a rebound less daunting when the virus is licked. They are also hoping that their efforts in the epidemic fight will leave a good impression on consumers.
Car production has been slashed, but the impact is limited, according to industry insiders. They are predicting a gradual rebound when the epidemic begins to fade.
“At present, it seems that car sales in the first quarter may be far less than ideal,” said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association.
“But the industry has the fortitude to overcome these difficulties, and the market will gradually improve over the rest of this year.”
