New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki, India’s biggest car manufacturer, Wednesday announced a two-day shutdown of production at its Gurugram and Manesar plants amid a slowdown in the auto sector.
In a statement to the stock exchanges, the auto giant said 7 and 9 September 2019, will be observed as no-production days, according to a news report.
India’s auto industry seems to be experiencing one of its worst phases in years. In July, the passenger vehicle sales figure dropped by 31 per cent to 200,790 units compared to the 290,931 units in the same period last year. It was the ninth straight drop for monthly passenger vehicle sales.
The trend continued in August, with Rajan Wadhera, president, SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers), saying, “The sales report coming out from various companies for the month of August 2019 has been very dismal with over 30 per cent erosion of sales for passenger vehicles.”
Amid this downturn, Maruti Suzuki has been hit hard. It reported a huge 32.7 per cent decline in sales in August from the same period last year. Compared to the 1,58,189 units the company had sold in August last year, this time it managed to sell just 1,06,413 units.
A Bloomberg report said India is slipping into a ‘quasi recession’, with the auto industry taking the bigger hit.
With agency inputs
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