As coronavirus cases surpass two million worldwide, the car industry has experienced an upheaval radical enough to permanently alter the trajectory of modern transportation as we know it.
Auto prices across the board have fallen 10% in recent weeks, according to Manheim, which is owned by Cox Automotive. Used-car sales in March fell 64%. Manufacturers have postponed important debuts and switched factory production lines over to making medical equipment: In Detroit, General Motors is making ventilators instead of Escalades; in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Lamborghini is hand-stitching facial masks instead of Huracans.
Meanwhile, McLaren and others have preemptively pulled out of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the site of the year’s most important luxury car debuts. (Event organizers have yet to officially cancel the annual concours.) LEARN MORE