Auto slowdown: Maruti Suzuki cuts production for 8th consecutive month in September

The prolonged decline in sales, for the eleventh consecutive month, has forced Maruti Suzuki India to cut its production by 17.48 per cent in September, making it the eighth straight month it has reduced its output.

The development came in wake of the ongoing slowdown in the automobile sector which has massively hit all auto companies, including those who make heavy commercial vehicles and auto-part manufacturers. All major carmakers, including Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai, Mahindra and Mahindra, Honda and Tata Motors have cut down their production capacity to reduce inventory at dealerships. Tata Motors reduced its production of passenger vehicles by 63 per cent to 6,976 units in September as compared to 18,855 units in the same period last year.

"Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) had produced a total of 1,32,199 units in September as against 1,60,219 units in the year-ago month," the country's largest carmaker said in a regulatory filing.

In August, the auto major had reduced its production by 33.99 per cent at 1,11,370 units.

The production of passenger vehicles (segment under PV) declined by 17.37 per cent to 1,30,264 units in September 2019, as against 1,57,659 units in the same period last year, MSI said.

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Production of mini and compact segment cars, including Alto, New WagonR, Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Baleno and Dzire, dropped by 14.91 per cent to 98,337 units versus 1,15,576 units in the year-ago period, the filing said.

In a similar trend, production of utility vehicles such as Vitara Brezza, Ertiga and S-Cross dipped 17.05 per cent to 18,435 units as compared with 22,226 units in September 2018.

The production of mid-sized sedan Ciaz decreased to 2,350 units from 4,739 units in the same month last year. Light commercial vehicle Super Carry's production slipped to 1,935 units as compared to 2,560 units in September 2018, Maruti Suzuki said.

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Last month, the company had shut down its operations at Gurugram and Manesar plants for the two working days -- September 7 and 9.

Battling with the rising inventory amid a slowdown in demand, Maruti Suzuki is offering heavy discounts on its products to clear up its inventory. This move is being made considering the slowdown in car sales as well as the upcoming implementation of Bharat Stage-VI.

In September, the company had reported a dip of 24.4 per cent in its total car sales to 1,22,640 units as against 1,62,290 units sold in the same month last year.

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar with PTI inputs