The race is on to produce more ventilators and masks
Multiple well-known car firms have responded to the governments request for help by attempting to produce ventilators and masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
China
Fiat has converted one of its car plants in China in an attempt to start making around one million masks a month. Production will begin in the coming weeks, according to Fiat’s chief executive Mike Manley.
United States of America (USA)
Across the pond, General Motors, Ford and Tesla have all pledged their support to offer resources to make more ventilators.
Ford previously said it was working with GE Healthcare and 3M in order to design modified respirators and ventilators which could be produced using fans, batteries and other parts that Ford typically uses for its cars. However, the firms were unable to provide an estimated timeline for delivery of the products.
The first 1000 transparent face shields created by Ford in order to complement existing protective gear for hospital staff, are expected to be delivered across three hospitals within the Detroit-area this week. Ford anticipates production of around 75,000 shields per week going forward.
US President Donald Trump tweeted his encouragement for the manufacturers taking on this task: "Ford, General Motors and Tesla are being given the go ahead to make ventilators and other metal products, FAST! Go for it auto execs, let's see how good you are?"
Additionally, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently announced reduced barriers in the medical device approval process to help speed up the production of ventilators. Talking about this process change, US health and human services secretary Alex Azar said in a statement: "Medical device makers can more easily make changes to existing products, such as changes to suppliers or materials, to help address current manufacturing limitations or supply shortages.
"Other manufacturers, such as auto makers, can more easily repurpose production lines to help increase supply."
United Kingdom (UK)
In the UK both Nissan and Formula 1 teams have pledged their support to help produce ventilators.
Will this be an easy task for car manufacturers?
Not everyone is convinced that car manufacturers will easily be able to switch manufacturing to help produce the necessary supplies during the pandemic.
Jens Hallek, head of ventilator manufacturer Hamilton Medical, previously explained how the materials and components needed to build a ventilator are "highly specific" and require "specialised know-how". Hallek said: "These are extremely sensitive machines with not only a lot of hardware, but also a lot of software. If one of the components does not work correctly, the whole machine shuts down and cannot be used anymore.”
Additionally, former US defence department officials previously said that it could take more than a year for car manufacturers to start making ventilators.