Maruti Suzuki had last month announced to advance its bi-annual maintenance shutdown to 1st May through 9th May from the earlier plan of June. In its regulatory filing today; it announced that it is extending the maintenance shutdown till 16th May 2021.
We had earlier reported that Maruti Suzuki advanced the scheduled maintenance shutdown in its endeavour to support the Government in diverting oxygen for saving lives (source). It had announced that "As part of the car manufacturing process, Maruti Suzuki uses a small amount of oxygen in its factories while relatively much larger quantities are used by the manufacturers of components. In the current situation, we believe that all available oxygen should be used to save lives. Accordingly, Maruti Suzuki has decided to advance its maintenance shutdown, originally scheduled for June, to 1st to 9th May. Production in all factories will close for maintenance during this period."
The Automaker today announced that considering the current pandemic situation; it is extending the maintenance shutdown for another week till 16th May 2021. However; some activities will continue in the plants. The decision applies to Suzuki Motor Gujarat as well.
This means that Maruti Suzuki will lose almost 50 percent of the production for the month. May 2021 is proving to be one of the worst months for the auto sector. The second Covid wave and state lockdowns have forced almost 75 percent of the dealerships (approx 20,000 out of 26,500 outlets) to shut down. Also, the outlets that are open are recording negligible footfalls. This has led to the auto manufacturers advancing the maintenance-related shutdowns and avoid loading stock at the plant/dealerships.