Lamborghini is yet to resume car production, but it's currently keeping itself busy building masks and face shields for health care workers at the Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Hospital in Bologna, Italy. The automaker assigned some of its workers to do the task in a bid to help fight the spread of the coronavirus.
Employees working at the company's carbon-fiber plant will start 3D printing face shields, while those working on Lamborghini cabins will be the ones making surgical masks. The automaker's goal is to produce 200 face shields and 1,000 masks per day.
The Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences will test the medical equipment produced by Lamborghini before being distributed to the local hospital. Italy is Europe's epicenter for the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already claimed thousands of lives. The entire country is still under strict lockdown.
Earlier in March, the Italian automaker announced it would temporarily suspend all car production with plans to reopen on March 25. However, the company still hasn't resumed operations up to this day, and there have been no announcements either.
"This measure is an act of social responsibility and high sensibility toward our people, in the extraordinary situation in which we find ourselves right now in Italy and which is also evolving abroad due to the worldwide spread of the coronavirus," Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali said in a statement.
On the matter of medical equipment essential for healthcare workers and coronavirus patients, fellow automaker Toyota also announced it would start making respirators and ventilators. It's now working with companies to produce the equipment.
Toyota will donate its face shields to hospitals in Texas, Michigan, Kentucky, and Indiana in the United States. The automaker also gathered its essential supplies, like safety goggles and N95 masks, and has since donated them to health care workers.
Meanwhile, Tesla, General Motors, and Ford are ramping up ventilator production as well, and may even build the machines in-house. Ford has partnered with GE to build ventilators and respirators. The automaker is also getting ready to make masks, but it's still looking for a partner in supplying filters.
The novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has encouraged automakers to help out and use their expertise in manufacturing and production. Many companies in the US and Europe have suspended production to protect its workers and employees from the disease and are now partnering with other companies to make medical equipment that will curb the spread of the virus.
