Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to make 1 million masks a month to distribute in North America

Businesses from across the globe are joining hands in the battle against the Coronavirus that continues to sabotage the global economy. In recent news, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced on Tuesday that it plans on making as many as a million face masks every month. The masks, as per the Italian-U.S car manufacturer, will be provided to the North American emergency services for added support to combat the health emergency.

FCA (BIT:FCA) is also among the list of manufacturers that have recently turned to producing respirators and ventilators for Italian patients in Intensive care. In the U.S, prominent names like GM, Tesla, and Ford have turned to such a service.

FCA’s Decision Of Distributing In North America Is A Sensitive One

The car manufacturer also wishes to provide masks to firefighters, police officers, and workers in health care clinics and hospitals to help protect the professionals against the flu-like virus.

FCA’s decision to distribute the produced face masks in North America and not in Italy stems from the rising difficulty that global companies are facing in weighing where to direct the contribution first.

With a sharp increase in Corona cases across the world, protective equipment including face masks is quickly running out of stock. Since Italy marks FCA’s home country and has also been hit the hardest by the flu-like virus, Fiat’s decision of distributing face masks in North America is even more sensitive.

FCA, and Ferrari in collaboration with their controlling shareholder, Exor, however, have also launched assistance programs in Italy. The alliance is currently negotiating with Italy’s largest manufacturer of respirators, Siare, to help the company increase its production of the vital equipment amidst the Coronavirus pandemic by 100%.

Exor Donated £9.19 Million To Support Italy’s Battle Against The Coronavirus

Exor is Italy’s Agnelli family’s investment firm. The family also donated £9.19 million last week to support Italy’s ongoing battle against the fast-spreading virus.

According to Exor, the companies on its portfolio have been busy buying medical equipment from other countries including 150 ventilators. Such companies also made vehicles readily available to people in need. Exor also said that it is in constant contact with the Italian authorities and is ready to contribute in whatever way possible in making the process of buying healthcare products and medical equipment from abroad easier to enhance response against the Coronavirus.

Tuesday’s announcement also highlighted Exor to have purchased 250,000 masks in China. The company said that delivery is expected towards the end of the current week, following which, masks will be widely distributed in Italy.