More victims of the pandemic are emerging in the news on a daily basis at the moment. The latest is the car industry with the news that only 20,000 new cars were registered in May, down 89% compared to May 2019 and the worst May performance since 1952.

These statistics aren't surprising - with many in the population working from home and facing a threats to their income, purchasing a new car is unlikely to be high on personal agendas. Together with the need to import parts from the rest of the world (including China), the impact of the pandemic on the car industry has therefore been swift and deeply damaging.  

Car manufacturers are now scrambling to restructure business models to help their respective companies survive. Aston Martin have announced 500 redundancies in a drive to save £28m of costs and Lookers have hit the headlines for restructuring "the size of the group's dealership estate", resulting in the closure of 12 dealerships and the redundancy of 1500 employees. 

Dealerships were permitted to reopen from 1 June so there is hope on the horizon, but there will be a long road ahead for the industry.  No doubt, this is not the last we've heard of large car manufacturers utilising restructuring processes in an effort to recover.