#Ridership

As assembly plants cautiously fire up and buyers slowly return to the new vehicle market in North America, automakers have their fingers crossed, hoping that an increase in demand from frightened first-time buyers will offset lost sales from both the newly jobless and hard-hit rental agencies.

Data out of Europe and China seems to suggest the fright factor is real, but just how much (and for how long) automakers can depend on it really depends on the virus itself.