Producing masks and making ventilators to prevent disasters and fight epidemics, car companies are always at the forefront!

The scenes of history are always replaying.

From Willys manufacturing Jeeps during World War II, General Motors and Ford manufactured aircraft and tanks, to now SAIC-GM-Wuling and BYD manufacturing masks, Volkswagen, FCA, Jaguar, etc. have joined the manufacturing army of ventilators. It seems that every time a major crisis comes, automobile companies are the most capable helping hand.

Data show that as of 16:00 on March 25, the number of confirmed domestic infections caused by the new coronavirus has exceeded 80,000, and the number of confirmed infections abroad has also exceeded 330,000. The cumulative number of deaths due to the virus worldwide There are more than 18,000 people, and new ones are constantly being added.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, automobile companies have shown active initiative, donated money and materials, provided people and resources to support front-line epidemic prevention, and even produced the most scarce medical supplies. These actions have deeply affected the whole society. While feeling warm, they have also made great contributions to the country’s anti-epidemic work.

Chinese car companies produce masks, and overseas car companies make ventilators

On February 6, SAIC-GM-Wuling announced that it would work with suppliers to convert production lines to produce masks. "Whatever the people need, Wuling will make it" is constantly praised by people.

On February 8, the first batch of ***200,000 "Wuling brand" civilian masks produced by Wuling rolled off the production line. It only took 3 days from the idea to the first batch of masks coming off the production line, which not only vividly explained "Wuling Speed", but also brought an excellent demonstration effect to the industry.

Afterwards, BYD, GAC, Changan Automobile, etc. all expressed their intention to join the production of masks and disinfectant. As of early March, the daily production capacity of masks contributed by domestic car companies has reached as high as 8 million. In addition, there are a certain number of of disinfectant.

In the face of this major disaster, the spirit and sense of responsibility displayed by Chinese car companies amazed the whole world.

Inside EVS, a well-known American new energy vehicle news website, lamented: “In less than two weeks, Chinese car companies completed work that usually takes two months; they completed the production of mask machines in 7 days. R&D and manufacturing process, while in the market, it usually takes 15 to 30 days to manufacture a complete mask machine; at the same time, the research and development of medical-grade disinfectants was completed in 6 days, and these disinfectants were produced in just 8 days. Delivered to the front-line medical staff.”

Therefore, as the epidemic in Europe and the United States worsens rapidly, overseas automobile factories have naturally become the main targets for assistance from governments of various countries, including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, etc. etc., have begun to negotiate with car companies to produce medical supplies.

However, unlike domestic companies producing masks, Europe and the United States pay more attention to ventilators. According to Academician Zhong Nanshan, ventilator is one of the most effective treatments for COVID-19 in the absence of specific drugs.

The UK was the first country to call on car companies to switch to producing ventilators. According to reports, the UK has 5,000 ventilators available for use. However, if the number of confirmed cases continues to increase, there will soon be insufficient. As of March 25, the number of confirmed cases in the UK has exceeded 8,000. In the past week, the number of confirmed cases in the UK has increased second only to the United States and Germany.

For this reason, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Jaguar and other car manufacturers to take action on March 16 to produce as many ventilators as possible.

As the country with the most severe epidemic in Europe, Italy has the largest ventilator shortage. Currently, Italy has only 3,000 ventilators, but the number of patients has reached 70,000 (as of March 25). The severe shortage of ventilators has forced Italy to face a cruel fact - considering the probability of survival, young people are the priority for treatment, which is equivalent to announcing the "death" of the diagnosed elderly in advance.

On March 19, Italian car companies Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) said they had entered into negotiations with Siare Engineering, the largest local ventilator manufacturer, to help it increase production. Siare said the government has asked the company to increase its monthly ventilator production from 160 to 500 units.

As the country with the fastest-growing epidemic, the United States currently has 160,000 ventilators, and another 12,700 are strategically supplied to the country. However, due to the federal system in the United States, there is an obvious problem of uneven distribution of materials among states. Therefore, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is facing the worst epidemic situation, has requested the federal government to nationalize the acquisition of medical supplies and uniformly distribute them.

It is understood that New York has a shortage of more than 20,000 ventilators. "Every state is buying ventilators, and we have sent people to China, the largest manufacturer of ventilators, to buy them," Cuomo said.

As of 9 a.m. on March 25, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States has exceeded 50,000, of which New York accounts for nearly half. Recently, Ford, General Motors and Tesla have all obtained "licenses" to manufacture ventilators.

The German government also requires automakers to produce medical equipment such as masks and ventilators. Volkswagen has formed a dedicated working group to study how 3D printing technology can be used to help produce ventilators and other life-saving equipment. Daimler also said it is studying various options.

The epidemic is urgent, and "China's experience" has become a guiding light

In addition to producing ventilators in factories in their respective countries, multinational companies also hope that Chinese companies can provide as much help as they can. This is because the epidemic in China has been effectively controlled and all factories have resumed work and production in an orderly manner.

The Volkswagen Group has determined a set of assistance plans for the German medical system, which includes using resources from the Chinese market to assist Germany, purchasing medical equipment worth tens of millions of euros in China, and producing it in its Chinese joint venture factory Face mask.

Fiat Chrysler also said that it is producing masks through its Chinese factory, which is expected to be put into production in the next few weeks, with a monthly production capacity of 1 million. In the future, these masks will be donated mainly to emergency personnel and medical institutions in the United States.

BYD recently stated that on the basis of meeting domestic demand, it does not rule out the possibility of exporting masks if overseas countries have demand.

On March 19, Reuters reported: "The idea of ??British, American and Italian car companies switching to producing medical supplies began in China. BYD produced 5 million masks and 300,000 bottles of disinfectant (in one day)."?

Screenshot of Reuters report

In fact, in addition to producing medical supplies, the successful epidemic prevention experience of Chinese car companies has also become the target of imitation by multinational companies.

On March 17, at the Volkswagen Group’s 2020 online media communication meeting, Diess, Chairman of the Volkswagen Group Management Board, bluntly stated that the Volkswagen Group has copied China’s epidemic prevention model to all companies under the group. .

“We are now trying our best to maintain the distance between people and try our best to replace face-to-face meetings with telephone conferences/video conferences; quarantine employees who have been to areas with severe epidemics; implement working from home to reduce office attendance Wait."?

After reading the performance of Chinese car companies in epidemic prevention, "European Automotive News" reporter Nick Gibbs also wrote with emotion: "Geely Automobile and other Chinese car companies have taken measures to overcome the epidemic. These measures are worthy of reference by European car manufacturers." In fact, in the face of the new coronavirus, mankind is in the same boat. If conditions permit, we welcome overseas car companies to copy China's experience as much as possible.

Car companies have natural advantages in switching to producing medical supplies

Although making ventilators is more difficult than making masks, it is not impossible. After all, in special times, automobile companies can even build aircraft and cannons.

As the crown jewel of modern industry, automobile manufacturing involves tens of thousands of parts and hundreds of supporting suppliers. From sheet metal processing to vehicle assembly, a variety of processing technologies are required. With various types of mechanical molds, their complexity is unparalleled in civil machinery technology.

Compared with other manufacturing industries, the advantages of supply chain will make it easier for vehicle companies to integrate various suppliers together to assemble medical equipment quickly and effectively. This is also the direct reason why SAIC-GM-Wuling, BYD, etc. can quickly realize the production of masks.

In addition, vehicle manufacturers also have ready-made workshops, machine tools, and basic manufacturing processes and equipment.

In addition, human resource advantages also help car companies improve production efficiency. Domestically, BYD has hundreds of thousands of employees, and SAIC-GM-Wuling, GAC, Changan, etc. also have large R&D and manufacturing teams. Abroad, not to mention multinational groups such as Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, and FCA.

In addition, car companies often have deep technical reserves, such as electronic and pneumatic technologies that the production of ventilators relies on, which can help car companies quickly switch to production of medical supplies.

Statistics show that as of March 22, 14 multinational automakers in the world have announced the closure of their factories, with the total number of factories affected reaching more than 100.

When the automobile market drops to the "freezing point" and automobile production becomes unsustainable, it is also a good idea to switch to the production of masks, ventilators and other urgently needed medical supplies. After all, only when the difficulties end as soon as possible can the enterprise usher in a real spring.

Some pictures come from the Internet, such as infringement?

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.