labels: Economy - general, Cars
Maruti Suzuki may cut production news
24 December 2008

The country's largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki is considering cuts in production if its  sales do not improve in the current fiscal year.

As of last year's figures the company still hold 54.6 per cent of market share, this however has been on a gradual decline over the years.
 
Across the world there has been a slowdown in demand, including China, India and other BRIC countries, which has made the company contemplate a production cutback.

The company had already cut production in November by 6.29 per cent at 63,431 units against 67,690 units in the same month last year. In November, the company's passenger car sales dipped by 24.84 per cent at 43,258 units against 57,554 units in the same month last year.

The biggest loser has been the iconic Maruti 800 which has lost nearly 60 per cent in sales over the same period last year. The Omni and Versa mini van sales too have dropped nearly 50 per cent. It is likely that a major part of the cuts will emerge from these two segments.

Nakanishi said the company's focus is on not letting inventories pile up, specially at the dealers end.

Nakaniski hopes that the December figures will be better and the company will makes lesser cuts this month. Maruti Suzuki has cut prices this month to pass on the benefit of the reduction of 4 per cent in CENTVAT by the central government.

The company, which has been negotiating contract manufacturing deal for its A-Star model with Nissan, also expects to start exports for the Japanese car maker by around February-March next year. This would help boost its sales figures in the coming quarter.

Segment Models November Till November April'07 - March'08
2008 2007 % Change 2008-09 2007-08 % Change
A1 M800 2307 5653 -59.2 34400 44795 -23.2 69553
C Omni, Versa 3845 7331 -47.6 51177 57525 -11.0 89729
A2 Alto, Wagon-R, Zen, Swift, A-star 34976 47641 -26.6 321920 327820 -1.8 499280
A3 SX4, Esteem,
Dzire *
5975 4260 40.3 46176 33611 37.4 49335
Total Passenger Cars 47103 64885 -27.4 453673 463751 -2.2 707897
MUV Gypsy,
Grand Vitara *
601 331 81.6 4957 2481 99.8 3921
Domestic 47704 65216 -26.9 458630 466232 -1.6 711818
Export 5007 4483 11.7 40606 33876 19.9 53024
Total Sales 52711 69699 -24.4 499236 500108 -0.2 764842

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Maruti Suzuki may cut production