The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Wednesday said that it would restart production of vehicles at it Manesar (Haryana) plant from May 12. The company also said that it has re-opened 600 dealerships which were closed due to lockdown and has even started deliveries of the vehicles. Apart from Manesar, Maruti has another plant in Haryana at Gurgaon. It has a plant in Gujarat also. The yearly capacity of the Manesar and Gurgaon plants together is of 15.5 lakh. On a monthly basis, during normal times, both the plants together produce around 5,000 vehicles with higher numbers being produced at the Manesar plant. The plant produces vehicles like Dzire, WagonR, Ciaz and Ertiga.
“All activities would be carried out strictly in accordance with the government regulations and guidelines and observing the company’s own concern for the highest standards of safety,” Maruti said. Currently, Maruti’s inventory – including its stockyards and dealer networks – stands at around 130,000 units whereas its domestic sales during March was 78,344 units. Earlier in the day, the company said it has started opening its dealer showrooms in states where they have got permission to do so after putting in place a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SoP) and digital infrastructure for vehicle purchase amid Covid-19 pandemic. “Over the last few days we have been able to make 600-odd dealerships operational across the country,” executive director, marketing and sales, Shashank Srivastava, told news agency PTI.
The company, which has around 3,080 dealerships across 1,960 cities and towns in the country, has managed to open 474 Arena outlets, 80 Nexa dealerships and 45 commercial vehicle sales outlets. The company has also started deliveries of cars with 55 units having already been dispatched over the last few days, Srivastava said. On the timeframe of commencing operations across the entire sales network, he said, “It will depend on how soon we get approvals from respective state governments.” The company’s chairman, RC Bhargava had earlier told FE that starting production only makes sense once dealerships are also allowed to resume operations.
Managing director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa said, “All our dealerships have put in place steps to ensure complete safety, hygiene and sanitisation of all touch points.” The steps are aimed at removing hesitation on the part of buyers to visit showrooms to take delivery of vehicles. The Covid-19 SoP designed by the company encapsulates all the facets of customer interactions. From the time a customer walks into the showroom till the final delivery of the vehicle, all processes have been scientifically studied, Srivastava said. Besides, the company has put in place a robust digital process to help customers buy vehicles without having the need to visit the showrooms, he added.
The company said it now offers door-step delivery of cars. Besides, the dealerships will carry out complete sterilisation of the test-drive vehicles.