By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director
Due to the COVID-19 crisis (and problems from before the crisis), the auto industry around the world is in free fall. I have noticed that any time there is some bad news, automakers release information that keeps us excited. I am not sure if all the automakers will survive this crisis. Factories around the world have been shuttered due to the pandemic, and most of us hunkering in place are dealing with other issues, and buying a new car is probably not one of them.
The Coronavirus tsunami has no indication of subsiding anytime soon. Here are just some of last week’s depression-era headlines from the NMA Driving News concerning the auto industry:
- Automakers poised to signal U.S. sales collapse ahead
- Automakers warned of coming ‘credit shock’
- U.S. set to grant automakers a lifeline, but no bailout
- European sales forecast to plunge amid virus shutdowns
- Spain auto sales plunge 69% in March
- FCA down 10%, GM drops 7% for first 3 months of 2020
- Porsche deliveries slump 20% as coronavirus slows auto sales
- Car and Driver: GM Delays Updated Chevy, GMC, and Cadillac Models: Report
- Europe’s auto industry sees unprecedented crisis following production losses
- BMW taps German debt market as coronavirus batters auto industry
- Volkswagen burning through $2.2 billion a week as coronavirus halts production
- GM temporarily cuts pay by 20% for 69,000 salaried workers amid coronavirus pandemic
- Ford downgraded to junk by S&P
Despite all that, automakers have been making announcements about auto tech devices: Here are just some headlines that have appeared on our Driving News Feed:
- This Truck’s Tailgate Could Be an Absolute Gamechanger for the Pickup World
- BMW develops steering wheel with a variable shape
- BMW Will Give Hydrogen Another Go With 374-Horsepower Fuel Cell Crossover
- Honda Follows Mazda By Ditching Some Touchscreen Controls For Not Being ‘Intuitive’
- Hyundai Mobis develops roof airbag
- Porsche Is Using 3D-Printing to Make Better Seats for Its Sports Cars
- Samsung Reveals Breakthrough: Solid-State EV Battery with 500-Mile Range
Despite all the doomsday scenarios about the auto industry, here are ten other stories posted on Driving News that focused on research, even a patent disagreement:
- EU steps in as automakers fight Nokia over car communication patents
- Coming Release Of Tesla Autopilot ‘Red Light’ Auto-Stopping Could Trigger A Self-Driving Downward Spiral
- Annoy the Driver: IIHS Offers Its Two Cents on Improving Self-Driving Safety
- The Most Beautiful Engine Bays of All Time
- Don’t Believe The Electric Car Hype: A Grim Trip To One Of The Biggest Auto Malls In The U.S.
- ‘Faster than filling up with gas’: These ultracapacitors will change electric cars, says startup
- Driverless Cars Have Arrived, and They All Look Like Loaves of Bread
- The Future Of Driving And How We Get There
- Scientists Find a Way to Make Hydrogen Fuel Production 25x More Efficient
- Damn Your Eyes: The Ugliest Cars Ever Made
Thank you for reading the National Motorists Association’s Auto Tech Watch Blog. If you find an online article of interest concerning auto tech, please drop us the link via email to nma@motorists.org. Interested in discussing this blog, please write your comments below or join the discussion on Facebook. If you would like to keep up with auto tech news, subscribe to the NMA’s Driving News Daily email.
If you would like to support this blog and all the work we do across the country on behalf of motorists, please show your support by becoming a member of the NMA today!
