Aerial photo shows the Yangtze River bridge during the morning rush hour in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Li He)

 As Hubei Province is bringing the coronavirus under control, the automobile industry, a core sector in the province is ramping up production after a suspension of more than two months. 

Industry experts said the normalization of the whole vehicle industry is catching up and is expected to boost the local economy.

Ke Ke, mayor of Suizhou in Hubei visited Hubei Qixing Group, a major producer of cars, on Sunday to inspect the sterilization and disease prevention measures put in place at the group's factory to ensure a safe working environment, Jiang Jing, a sales manager of the company told the Global Times on Sunday.

Jiang said that the company has not only fully resumed production but added another 70 percent capacity to meet rising orders.

"Our maximum daily production used to be around 160-180 units per day and now we are producing 280 units after the production capacity hits 170 percent," Jiang said, adding that the orders are now booked up until May.

Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association, told the Global Times that the resumption of work at large auto producers in Hubei has been a major driver of the broader automobile manufacturing industry which is contributing to the recovery of the local economy. 

"Auto-making is a pillar industry in Hubei Province. Given the long industrial chain of a car ranging from steel, parts and interior decoration, its industrial value is massive. The auto industry is worth up to 400 billion ($56.6 billion) yuan annually to the Hubei economy," Cui said.

One of the first companies in Hubei allowed to open in late March, Dongfeng Honda has seen an uptick in orders with the company's three factories running at full production capacity, 50.1 seconds for each new car, according to a report by China News on Friday.

At present, daily car production is 3,000 units, and the production schedule for orders is full until the end of April, the report said.

The production and sales of automobiles in March reached 1.42 million and 1.43 million respectively, showing different degrees of year-on-year decline, but the growth rate in March reached 399.2 percent and 361.1 percent, respectively, compared with February, according to a reported issued by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on April 10.

Xu Kemin, director of the industrial policy and regulation department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told a press briefing on Thursday that China's manufacturing industry has made progress in restarting production.

"As of April 14, the average operating rate of industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 99 percent," Xu said. The designated size refers to companies with an annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan.  

However, due to the rapid spread of the pandemic overseas, the resumption of manufacturing production is being stymied by problems, including the lack of domestic and international demand.

To tackle the shrinking demand, the Global Times learned that Dongfeng Honda are using online social platforms such as TikTok in a bid to stimulate sales and make up for the over 70 days of production hiatus.

Cui said that he is not worried too much about consumption as big carmakers like Dongfeng Honda has a reputation for making quality products and as long as they resumed production there will be market demands.