Maruti cut vehicle production by around 21 per cent in March

The country’s largest automaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) cut vehicle production by around 21 per cent across its factories in March due to subdued demand.  The auto major produced a total of 1,36,201 units in March which also includes Super Carry LCV, down by 20.9 per cent from 1,72,195 units in the year-ago period.

The production of passenger vehicles, including Alto, Swift, Dzire and Vitara Brezza, declined by 20.6 per cent to 1,35,236 units as compared with 1,70,328 units in March 2018.

The compact segment saw 7.5 per cent decline in production to 81,163 units, while utility vehicle witnessed a drop of 26.4 per cent to 17,719 units in March. However, production of vans rose by 6 per cent to 15,710 units last month as compared with 14,822 units in March 2018.

However, the MSI declined to comment on the reason for decrease in production. In the month of February, MSI had cut production by over 8 per cent to 1,48,959 units from 1,62,524 units produced in the year-ago period.

In January, the company had reported a total production of 1,83,064 units, up 15.6 per cent from 1,58,396 units produced in January 2018. MSI’s installed manufacturing capacity at its two plants in Gurgaon and Manesar stands at 15.5 lakh units per annum. Besides, the Suzuki-owned Hansalpur (Gujarat) plant also has an installed capacity of 2.5 lakh units from the first line.

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The second production line has been commissioned at the plant but is yet to reach its peak capacity of 2.5 lakh units per annum.

Recently, Maruti Suzuki announced that it will increase the prices of its lineup of cars up to Rs 689 (ex-showroom, Delhi) on account of mandatory high security registration plates from April 1.

In March, Maruti Suzuki finally launched the much-awaited diesel engine of Ciaz which is the new 1.5-litre DDiS 225 diesel engine. The new Ciaz has been priced at Rs 9.97 lakh for the basic model going and Rs 11.37 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the top-end model.

The new Ciaz offers more power and good low-end torque. The 1.5-litre diesel engine has been developed in-house by the manufacturer. Last year, Maruti Suzuki introduced the all-new a.15-litre petrol engine with the Ciaz. The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz takes on the likes of Honda City, Toyota Yaris Hyundai Verna in the Indian market. 

The Ciaz 1.5 diesel engine is available in three trim levels – Delta, Zeta and Alpha. The new Ciaz offers E15A four-cylinder motor develops a maximum power of 94 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 225 Nm of peak torque that is available between 1,500-2,500 rpm, according to Maruti Suzuki.

The new diesel powertrain is BS-VI ready and will comply with the upcoming emission norms by adding a few filters to the engine.

(With inputs from PTI)