Car industry rallies with Coronavirus aid

The car industry is doing its bit to help with the Coronavirus pandemic.

From Formula 1 and Supercars teams to car-makers and motor show facilities, the industry is using its manufacturing nous and resources to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Chiefly, several Formula 1 teams have combined their facilities and man-power to manufacture medical equipment to help deal with the Coronavirus spread.

‘Project Pitlane’, as it is being called, pools together the resources of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Racing Point, Haas, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Renault and Williams to produce ventilators and other equipment for health outlets around the world.

“Project Pitlane will pool the resources and capabilities of its member teams to greatest effect, focusing on the core skills of the F1 industry: rapid design, prototype manufacture, test and skilled assembly,” the sport said in a statement.

“F1’s unique ability to rapidly respond to engineering and technological challenges allows the group to add value to the wider engineering industry’s response."

Closer to home, Supercars team Erebus is doing its part to support the Coronavirus fight, developing items like the ‘e-Mask’ and ‘e-Aerosol Box’ with the help of Supercars medical delegate Dr Carl Le.

Both are designed to help protect healthcare professionals in the line of duty – the mask offering high grade filtration and the box offering a shield to reduce the risk of infection when treating patients.

"We are in a fortunate position where we have the ability to make this shift in our operations and help our health care workers and patients," Erebus chief Barry Ryan said.

Erebus said it is also investigating the use of two-way motorsport communications into and out of isolation rooms as a means of improving efficiencies.

Erebus is not alone, either: as we’ve already reported, Walkinshaw Group and Premcar are collaborating on the local manufacture of a low-cost simplified ventilator that could alleviate the drastic shortfall of the devices.

Still in Australia, Mitsubishi Motors says it will prioritise repairs and maintenance of health and essential service workers during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Mitsubishi says essential workers should identify themselves when booking so that dealership staff can fulfil the commitment. The Australian operation says that, in some dealerships, workshops are able to offer vehicle collection and drop-off from home or work if customers cannot get to the dealership service area.

“This is a once in a generation event, and we appreciate everything these critical workers are doing to protect our communities. Service and repair work is essential to keeping them safe on the road as they take on this huge task,” said Mitsubishi Motors chief executive John Signoriello.

“In the past few weeks, my colleagues who have family members working in healthcare or government response roles have told me they are working long shifts to manage the demands on their services.

“They are working terrifically hard. If we can do something to offer some peace-of-mind, and maximise their downtime between shifts – we should, and we will.”

Meantime, the 2020 Detroit motor show, originally scheduled for June, has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus.

In an official release over the weekend, North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) organisers confirmed the Detroit event – which traditionally runs in January but was moved to June 9-20 for 2020 to separate it from competing motor shows – will not run this year.

The Detroit show is one of several to be affected by the Coronavirus, and its cancellation is hardly a surprise given tens of thousands of people descend on the motor city each year for it.

The Geneva motor show scheduled for March has already been cancelled, while the annual New York motor show has been postponed.

But in a positive spin, the TCF Centre that plays host to the Detroit event will be repurposed as a field hospital to treat Coronavirus patients. At present, the centre is being used to stockpile medical supplies.

"Although we are disappointed, there is nothing more important to us than the health, safety and well-being of the citizens of Detroit and Michigan, and we will do what we can to support our community’s fight against the coronavirus outbreak,” NAIAS executive director Rod Alberts said.

“With the more than 100 convention centres and facilities around the country being considered to potentially serve as temporary hospitals, it became clear to us that TCF Centre would be an inevitable option to serve as a care facility to satisfy our community’s urgent health needs.”

Similarly, in New York – Coronavirus ground zero in the US – the Javits Centre that traditionally hosts the Big Apple’s annual motor show will be turned into a field hospital from Monday.

Those who have purchased tickets for the 2020 Detroit motor show will be refunded at full price.