Maruti Suzuki To Get 2.5 Lakh Units From Its Parent’s Gujarat Plant In 2017-18
Maruti Suzuki will get 1.50 lakh units by March from Suzuki’s Gujarat plant.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. expects to reduce the waiting period on its popular models as its parent Suzuki Motor will supply 2.5 lakh units from its Gujarat plant next financial year.
The company will get 1.5 lakh units by March from the Gujarat plant, from where the popular premium hatchback Baleno is being rolled out. “The (output at the) plant is on in full swing in A and B shifts; in 2018-19 it will give us full production across the year. So, that would be 2.5 lakh units,” said RS Kalsi, senior executive director of marketing and sales at the company. “This financial year, we will receive 1.50 lakh units because the second shift started only in October.”
The increased supply from Gujarat has helped in reducing waiting period of popular models such as the Baleno and the compact SUV Vitara Brezza, Kalsi said. “At one point Baleno used to have a waiting period of around six to eight months. Now it has come down to about eight to 10 weeks. So to that it extent it has helped us.”
Similarly, the waiting period for the Brezza has also come down to eight to 10 weeks, he said, adding that extra capacity from Gujarat has enabled the company to adjust production at its Manesar and Gurgaon plants for other models in demand.
“There was a certain element of discomfort that we are making our customers wait for such a long time for our products. So from that point of view, the discomfort factor that we faced earlier now isn’t there,” Kalsi said.
The company's new Dzire sedan has also received a good response from the market and became the second best selling model after the Alto in December.
The upcoming all-new Swift will also be rolled from the Gujarat plant, and Maruti Suzuki expects demand to be more than the average of 15,000 units a month that the old version was clocking. The company produces 1.5 million cars from its two plants in Haryana.