Chinese automakers BYD Co. and GAC Motor Co. are preparing to produce face masks and disinfectants to help motorists and the public ward off the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China.
BYD said it expects to launch production of face masks and disinfectants on Feb. 17.
Two BYD plants in the south China province of Guangdong are expected to be churning out 5 million face masks and 50,000 bottles of disinfectants a day by the end of the month, the company added.
The first batch of face masks and disinfectants will be donated to drivers of public buses, taxis and ride-hailing fleets as well as volunteers fighting the viral outbreak.
Masks and disinfectant will also be sold to the public at factory prices.
The two plants will keep producing masks and disinfectant until the end of the epidemic, the company said.
GAC, a state-owned automaker based in the south China city of Guangzhou, has dispatched a team of employees to an equipment manufacturer in nearby Dongguan to learn how to produce face masks.
It is assigning one of its parts subsidiaries to make face masks to avoid affecting vehicle production, GAC said Monday, without providing a timeframe on launching face mask output.
SAIC-GM-Wuling, a light-vehicle joint venture between General Motors and SAIC, is also converting one of its plants in the southwest China city of Liuzhou to produce face masks.