Photo: carsuk.net
Aside from being a critical health concern for the entire world, the coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc for the world economy. As businesses are closing down to curb the spread of the virus, industries across the world are taking a major hit.
For the auto industry, the coronavirus is proving to be a major challenge as well. Already in Europe, the continent hit the hardest by the scourge, several carmakers have announced they are shutting down production, most of them for an undetermined period of time.
After Ferrari, PSA, Ford and Volkswagen, Daimler too announced a freeze in production for a minimum of two weeks, following the “recommendations of international, national and local authorities.“
Daimler says the decision applies to the car, van and commercial vehicle plants in Europe and will be enforced by the end of this week.
“An extension of this measure will depend on further developments. Wherever operations need to be continued, the company will take appropriate precautions to prevent the infection of its employees,” said the carmaker in a statement.
“With these closures, Daimler is helping to protect its workforce, to interrupt chains of infection and to contain the spread of the pandemic. At the same time, this will help the company to prepare for a period of temporarily lower demand and to protect its financial strength.”
For the moment, no one has ventured into making an estimation of how much financial damage the current crisis would incur on the industry. If things continue in this manner, it is possible we'll witness a situation that could be far worse than the one of the financial crisis of the late 2000s.
Europe is at the moment the center of the coronavirus pandemic that started at the end of last year in China. Up until now there have been over 200,000 people infected and nearly 8,000 have died across the world.
After Ferrari, PSA, Ford and Volkswagen, Daimler too announced a freeze in production for a minimum of two weeks, following the “recommendations of international, national and local authorities.“
Daimler says the decision applies to the car, van and commercial vehicle plants in Europe and will be enforced by the end of this week.
“An extension of this measure will depend on further developments. Wherever operations need to be continued, the company will take appropriate precautions to prevent the infection of its employees,” said the carmaker in a statement.
“With these closures, Daimler is helping to protect its workforce, to interrupt chains of infection and to contain the spread of the pandemic. At the same time, this will help the company to prepare for a period of temporarily lower demand and to protect its financial strength.”
For the moment, no one has ventured into making an estimation of how much financial damage the current crisis would incur on the industry. If things continue in this manner, it is possible we'll witness a situation that could be far worse than the one of the financial crisis of the late 2000s.
Europe is at the moment the center of the coronavirus pandemic that started at the end of last year in China. Up until now there have been over 200,000 people infected and nearly 8,000 have died across the world.
Google News