The auto industry changed forever after COVID

• The companies emerged leaner and more resilient, which is helping them navigate the current turbulence over trade and tariffs.

Flashback: Automakers shut down vehicle factories in mid-March 2020, and turned their efforts to ventilator and mask production.

• When they gradually reopened in early May, they did so under strict safety protocols, including social distancing, temperature checks and enhanced sanitation.
• It was a bumpy recovery, with bottlenecks in far-away supply chains leading to parts shortages — especially semiconductors needed to power cars' electronic features.
• To cope, automakers prioritized production of high-profit vehicles like pickups and SUVs, while suspending production of other models.
• Thousands of unfinished vehicles were stored in parking lots until the chips could be installed.

The long tail of COVID is still evident in today's marketplace.

• Lower production during the pandemic translated into fewer cars on dealer lots and higher prices, triggering an affordability crisis that persists today, with car prices about 10% above pre-COVID trends, per Cox Automotive.
• Fewer cars being sold in 2020 and 2021 trickled through the used car market, too, resulting in short supply and higher prices for pre-owned models.

• The result is that used-car buyers today are buying older cars (3-4 years old, rather than 2-3 years) because that's what's available — and affordable.

The bottom line: COVID knocked the socks off the auto industry, and it's still feeling the effects today.

More from Axios:

• Why food prices are still high, five years after COVID
• How the pandemic transformed the housing market in 5 years
• Doctors are still burned out five years after COVID exposed systemic failures