Is Maruti Suzuki halting production of petrol cars at its
Gurgaon plant on Saturday in view of poor demand? It appears so, if the timing of the move is any indication. Car sales have taken a beating on account of high interest rates and poor consumer confidence.
During the April-January period, car sales fell 1.8 per cent and most car manufacturers are
grappling with excess inventory. It is feared that the
car segment could see its first negative growth in a decade.
However, a closer look at
industry numbers reveals that Maruti has already aligned production to demand and the reason for its decision to halt production of petrol cars for a day on Saturday could well be to adjust the product mix between diesel and petrol cars.
In the mini segment (Alto, A-Star and Wagon R) the company produced 419,732 units in the April 2012-January 2013 period and sold 419,323 units (including exports of 76,112 units).
Similarly, in the compact segment (Ritz, Swift and Estilo), the company produced 212,925 units and sold 211,120 units (including exports of 5,707 units).
In the super compact segment (Dzire) it produced 146,107 units and sold 1,44,879 units (exports: 13,702 units). It produced 5,519 units of SX4 but sold 5,594 units, thus dipping into the carry forward stock.
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