Coronavirus: Maruti Suzuki production falls 32% in March amid lockdown

Maruti Suzuki's production dropped by 32 per cent in March amid the nationwide lockdown which began in the last week of the month. A total of 92,540 units were produced by the country's largest carmaker in March compared to 1,36,201 units in the year-ago period, Maruti Suzuki said in an exchange filing.  In March, the production of passenger vehicles was recorded at 91,602 units as against 1,35,236 units in March 2019, a fall of 32.26 per cent, the automaker also said. The mini and compact segments cars also saw a decline as the production stood at 67,708 units as against 98,602 units in March last year, down 31.33 per cent. The production of utility vehicles by 14.19 per cent to 15,203 units as against 17,719 units in the year ago period. In February, the automaker had slashed its production by 5.38 per cent to 1,40,933 units.

The automaker on March 23 announced that it has stopped production of vehicles at its various plants as a precaution against the spread of life-threatening coronavirus. The production and operations at its facilities in Gurugram and Manesar, Haryana were shut down by the company with immediate effect till further notice.

Meanwhile, India's export sector could lose nearly 15 million jobs amid the lockdown, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) recently told the government. The sector also asked the government to release an economic package since it's facing pressure due to the cancellation of orders. With the cancellation of 50 per cent of the export orders, the sector is also expecting a rise in non-performing assets (NPAs), Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, FIEO also said. The government should also provide for COVID-19 interest-free working capital term loans to the exporters so as to cover the cost of wages, rent and utilities, the export body added.

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