Back in Production
Although automotive factories—both OEMs and suppliers—in the U.S. were shut down for about a quarter of 2020 as COVID-19 affected the country, they are all back in production. But like everything else in the world, it is not “production as usual,” as auto—which arguably lead the U.S. response to the pandemic, as it launched into the production of ventilators and an array of PPE equipment long before they were “instructed” to, which goes to the points of (1) the industry being made up of good people and (2) the flexibility of manufacturing and depth of supply chain resource they have—had to reconfigure their factories for personnel protection. That said, the industry has continued its efforts to electrify its powertrains, increase automation, and to produce cars, trucks and crossovers.