| Summary: | The global pandemic COVID-19 affected our society this past year and in turn had a swift and severe impact on the global integrated automotive markets. Where symptoms included a disruption in Chinese parts exports, large scale manufacturing interruptions across Europe, and struggle with an abrupt and widespread stoppage of economic activity. Workers have been told to stay at home, supply chains grind to a halt and factories close. According to an Icelandic research, sales of new vehicles have dropped by 32% this year during COVID-19 in Iceland (Magnússon, 2020) Electric mobility, driverless cars and automated factories are a few of the major changes to the auto industry faced even before COVID-19 crisis. Now with travel curtailed by the pandemic where we see worldwide factory closures, slumping car sales and massive layoffs, it is natural to wonder what our next norm for the automotive sector could be. The Icelandic media started to wonder the same question, but both individuals and companies are purchasing electric vehicles (EV) with growth in that industry is skyrocketing, where 50 percent of individual purchasers have opted to buy a hybrid plug-in or an electric vehicle. How come the electric vehicles are taking over? (Mbl, 2020) The automotive market in Iceland supports hundreds of jobs that revolve around the vehicles. vehicle dealerships is a part of Iceland’s economy and motorized vehicles are its preferred mode of transport. This research will analyze how COVID-19 effected the automotive market in Iceland and how employment rates have been through it. In this paper we will attempt to give light to what degree social distancing changes consumer behavior and what the role of digital tools is in maintaining customer engagement going forward?
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