If one industry has suffered the most due to the covid-19 pandemic, it was the automobile
industry.
It is evident from the fact that –
Global car sales declined between 20 and 30 percent in 2020. Moreover, depending on the
region, it may take up to four years to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels.
The automotive industry includes industries associated with the production, wholesaling,
retailing, and maintenance of motor vehicles.
But it is just not the pandemic that has damaged the automotive industry!
Let's look at all the factors today
Electric mobility, driverless cars, automated factories, and ridesharing—these are just a few
of the major disruptions the auto industry faced even before the COVID-19 crisis. Now with
travel deeply curtailed by the pandemic, and during worldwide factory closures, slumping car
sales, and massive layoffs, it’s natural to wonder what the “next to normal” for the auto
sector will look like.
COVID-19 crisis has compelled about 95 percent of all German automotive-related
companies to put their workforces on short-term work during the shutdown, a scheme
whereby employees are temporarily laid off and receive a substantial amount of their pay
through the government.
Globally, the repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis are immense and unprecedented. Many
auto-retail stores have remained closed for a month or more.
Because the Automotive players were uncertain about using digital channels before the
COVID-19 crisis hit, while companies in other industries aggressively moved ahead they
now lag other sectors in this area
So the problems which the automobile industry faces are plenty, it remains to be seen how
they channel their way out of them all.
It stands at the crossroad of two paths. One leads to reinvention and success, while the
other maintains the current status quo. To ensure their survival and success now and in the
future, it’s time for automotive industry players to act.
