Maruti Suzuki will temporarily suspend production at Gurugram and Manesar plants. Again

Maruti Suzuki, the largest carmaker in India, is not particularly having a great time at the moment. Why? Well, at the risk of sounding repetitive: Because the country's automotive industry is grappling with a distressing drop in sales, as it has for the past year. Pretty sure you have read about how this slowdown has taken a toll on the industry, with people losing jobs and manufacturers being forced to observe no production days among other things.

Maruti Suzuki has been no exception; in fact, the carmaker has just announced that it will suspend production for two days at its plants in Gurgaon and Manesar.

In an official release, the company said, "Maruti Suzuki India Limited has decided to shut down the passenger vehicle manufacturing operations of Gurugram Plant and Manesar Plant in Haryana for two days, on 7th and 9th September, 2019. Both days will be observed as no production days."

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As mentioned above, the slowdown hasn't spared Maruti Suzuki either. In fact, the company to has had to adjust production several times in the recent past. As a matter of fact, Maruti Suzuki cut down its production by 33.99 per cent last month, making it the seventh consecutive instance of the company reducing production. And not just that, it was also reported last month that Maruti Suzuki intends to operate only one shift at all its plants in the country. This was yet another measure to deal with the situation, i.e. inventory piling up as sales continue to drop.

Clearly, the situation is alarming, which makes one wonder if there is any respite on the horizon? Speaking in the context of government's endeavours to help alleviate the situation, it is unlikely there will be any more considerable measures any time soon since the government has already announced a relief package for the industry. While this aforementioned relief package usher in a handful of initiatives, it did not include the one thing the industry has continually demanded: a reduction in the GST rate for cars and two-wheelers.

Also read: Kerala doesn’t want to reduce GST on cars and two-wheelers

What does the industry have to think about its current status? Most automakers are counting on festive season 2019 to offer some desperately-needed relief and boost sales. But we'll have to wait and see if it will actually deliver the desired numbers.