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Major U.S. automakers are planning to reopen North American factories within two weeks, potentially putting thousands of workers back on the assembly line as part of a gradual return to normality.

Zero-percent auto financing deals hit a record last month as carmakers kept the U.S. auto market from collapsing.

The safety measures that Ford Motor Co. has spent weeks preparing to resume North American production fell short of assuaging the United Auto Workers union, which could stand in the way of much of the industry’s plans to reopen.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended her stay-home order another two weeks to May 15 and kept the state’s carmakers and suppliers in limbo over how soon they’ll be able to reopen.

Automakers are cautiously coalescing around plans to reopen North American assembly plants early next month following what will be a roughly six-week shutdown for virtually the entire industry.

The U.S. auto industry will deploy millions more wireless systems to help prevent traffic collisions if the Federal Communications Commission abandons a proposal that would take away most of the radio frequencies reserved to carry those signals, according to an industry trade association.

Automakers are headed for a less drastic U.S. sales collapse than feared, according to market researchers.

Automakers are anxious to get their assembly lines rolling again, especially since leaving factories idle is costing them billions of dollars by the week.

A year that started off well for the U.S. auto market, with only a subtle downshift expected following years of strong demand, is suddenly shaping up to be a disaster.

Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Honda and Toyota took steps March 26 to restart North American factories that have been closed to protect workers from the coronavirus.