The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting several industries in India, and the auto segment is no exception here. While production hasn't come to a complete halt, some are working with a limited workforce, while others have suspended production till May 2021. However, Maruti Suzuki India today said that so far, the company's production has not been hampered by the pandemic or COVID-19 restriction imposed by the government. Speaking with the media virtually, post the company's board meeting to discuss the financial results for Q4 FY2021, R.C. Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India said that production at the company's plants is at 100 per cent.
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Addressing the question regarding the impact on production due to COVID-19, Bhargava said, "We are not under a lockdown right now. Unlike the nation-wide lockdown imposed last year, only 2 or 3 states have gone into lockdown, and that too with some exceptions that allow several companies to function"
Maruti Suzuki India Chairman, RC Bhargava says that so far the company production and sales have not been impacted due to COVID-19
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Currently, regions like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi are the only places that had imposed lockdown, with some exemptions, due to rising COVID-19 cases. While the state governments haven't imposed any halt on vehicle production, the lockdown has affected certain carmakers in India. For instance, Tata Motors is running its Pune plant with a limited workforce, whereas MG Motor India has said that it will halt production at its Halol plant in Gujarat for 7 days. Toyota too is halting vehicle production at its Bidadi Plant for 3 weeks. Maruti Suzuki India currently has two manufacturing facilities in India, in Gurugram and Manesar, and both are located in the state of Haryana, which hasn't imposed a lockdown. Of course there is also Suzuki Motor Gujarat in Hansalpur, Ahmedabad, wholly owned by Suzuki Motor Corporation, which supplies cars to Maruti Suzuki India.
Maruti Suzuki India's total vehicle production stood at 172,433 in March 2021, a 2.5% growth over February 2021
In March 2021, Maruti Suzuki India's total vehicle production stood at 172,433 units, witnessing a massive 85 per cent growth compared to 92,540 units products a year ago in March 2020. However, we have to consider the fact that it was in the latter part of March last year that India went into a nationwide lockdown suspending production completely. So, this growth is essentially an anomaly. However, compared to February 2021, when the company produced 168,180 vehicles at its plants, it saw a more realistic Month-On-Month (MoM) growth of 2.5 per cent.
