Trump takes aim at GM
Donald Trump has accused General Motors of “wasting time” after he ordered the company to make ventilators for coronavirus patients.
The US president has invoked emergency powers to require the car giant to build the health equipment after he accused it of not moving quickly enough on the matter.
In response, GM says it has been working with ventilator firm Ventec Life Systems and GM suppliers “around the clock for over a week to meet this urgent need”.
Trump took to Twitter to complain that GM had lowered the number of ventilators it had promised to deliver from 40,000 to 6,000 and had wanted “top dollar”.
He also criticised GM chief executive Mary Barra, saying things were “always a mess” with her at the helm of the Detroit-based carmaker, reports the BBC.
The president has expressed anger with GM’s decision to close an assembly plant in politically important Ohio and its decisions to build plants outside the US.
GM claims it will be able to build at least 10,000 ventilators per month from April at its plant in Kokomo, Indiana.
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the US has topped 100,000 and is the highest in the world. There have also been more than 1,550 deaths linked to the pandemic.
Ventilators keep patients breathing and are crucial in the fight against the coronavirus, which in the most serious cases attacks the lungs.
Medical manufacturing
Carmakers and their suppliers worldwide are increasingly turning their focus to the production of healthcare products and machines in the wake of the outbreak.
Besides making ventilators, GM will also make up to 50,000 surgical masks at its Michigan plant from early.
Elsewhere in the US, Ford is helping to expand production of GE Healthcare’s ventilators and 3M’s respirators. It also is considering producing face masks at one of its facilities.
Toyota expects to soon start mass producing 3D-printed face shields and is finalising deals to produce ventilators and respirators.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to make more than one million face masks a month for first responders and healthcare workers, while Tesla has bought 1,225 ventilators to distribute in North America.
China’s BYD claims to be making five million face masks a day and is also churning out 300,000 bottles of disinfectant. Also in China, the joint venture between SAIC Motor Corp, GM and Wuling is converting one of its plants to make face masks.
Volkswagen is working on making 3D-printed parts for ventilators and Mahindra CIE Automotive in India hopes to scale up the manufacture of such machines at its plants.
Jobs threat
Volkswagen fears it may have to cut jobs if the coronavirus pandemic is not brought under control as the marque is still spending about €2 billion (NZ$3.7b) a week.
Chief executive Herbert Diess told German TV channel ZDF the company, which employs 671,000 people worldwide, was not making any sales outside China.
VW has suspended production at its European factories because of Covid-19 but Diess says it is looking for ways to resume manufacturing elsewhere that wouldn’t endanger its staff.
The carmaker owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat and Skoda brands.
PSA eyes return to work
French car maker PSA, which makes the Peugeot and Citroen brands, is keen to gradually restart manufacturing at its European plants.
The company has suspended production at all its European plants but hopes two sites in northern France may be back in business from early April, despite resistance from unions.
Battery production hit
Tesla plans to slash staff at its Nevada battery plant, which makes motors and battery packs for its Model 3 sedans, by about 75 per cent due to Covid-19,
The move comes after its Japanese battery partner Panasonic said it would scale down operations at its Nevada factory before closing it for 14 days.
Tesla has also suspended production at its vehicle factory in San Francisco Bay.
