BMW Group India on Thursday said that it has resumed production at its passenger car assembly plant in Chennai in accordance with the guidelines issued by local authorities. However, the remaining employees of the German luxury carmaker would continue to work from home, BMW India said in a statement.
"BMW Group India started operations at Chennai plant today (May 7) in accordance with guidelines issued by local authorities. Local production at the plant will be started with less than 50 per cent of regular workforce", the company also said. The plant will resume operations in a single shift, the company said.
BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad dealerships across the country would resume production adherence to local government directives and advisories while maintaining necessary safety and hygiene measures. "Depending on the pandemic situation and government advisories, deployment of staff will be adjusted steadily," it said.
India has been under a coronavirus lockdown since March 25. The lockdown is expected to be lifted on May 17. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs recently announced some relaxations in economic activities in the green and orange zones.
Meanwhile, leading car manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki India reported zero sales in the domestic market in April. The car manufacturer also said that the domestic sales have declined since the company complied in accordance with government orders and shut down its production facilities across the country. With the entire industry reporting zero poor sales in April, the domestic automobile sector earlier wrote to the government seeking relaxation from the lockdown to ensure full resumption of operations to the entire value chain.
Also read: Vizag gas leak: Gas valve malfunction, valve burst triggered accident; 8 dead, 200 hospitalised