Here's What Auto Companies are Doing after the Coronavirus Outbreak

The Coronavirus is making a lot of automotive companies nervous these days, with the outbreak leaving their wide-scale operations, productions, and earnings in China at risk. Wuhan, which is the epicenter of the outbreak, is home to car companies like General Motors (GM), FCA, Honda, Nissan, and many others. And with the virus outbreak still in active mode, the companies are now taking precautionary measures to make sure that everything remains--and will remain--under control.

GM, which is currently the largest automotive company in the country, has around 37,000 employees in China. It also has 15 assembly plants with Chinese partners in the country. According to Patrick Anderson, CEO of East Lansing-based economic consulting firm Anderson Economic Group, the company is trying hard under difficult circumstances, although they won't be able to avoid the fallout from the epidemic entirely.

Another automotive company that's under threat is FCA, which plans to merge with PSA Groupe. PSA, which is a French multinational manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles sold under the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands, has a joint venture in Wuhan with Chinese partner Chongqing Changan Automotive.

Reports say that PSA Groupe has already started taking out their employees from China. There are even talks of suspending manufacturing in the country if the outbreak worsens.

Meanwhile, Ford, FCA, and GM have also implemented global travel restrictions to China, with business-critical travel only allowed after being reviewed and assessed by their medical staff.

The Coronavirus

The name Coronavirus is taken from the latin word corona and the Greek korone, or crown. It refers to the characteristic appearance of virions when viewed by electron microscopy--fringes of large, bulbous surface projections that looks like a crown or a solar corona.

The Chinese Coronavirus is a cousin of the SARS virus. It can cause respiratory infections such as the common cold, although the infection can also take on other deadlier and more lethal forms like SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Human to human transmission or the virus occur among close contact through respiratory droplets via coughing and sneezing.

Currently, there are no vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human Coronavirus infections.

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