Auto sector crisis: April-July passenger vehicle output down 13.2% on Maruti, M&M production cuts

Passenger vehicles production in India was down 13.18 percent in April-July this fiscal with top manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Ford, Toyota and Honda reducing output massively. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) and Volkswagen India were the only two main manufacturers which saw production grow marginally during the period, according to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Total Passenger vehicles (PV) production in the April-July period stood at 12,13,281 units as against 13,97,404 units in the same period last fiscal, down 13.18 percent, SIAM said. [caption id=“attachment_5619391” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP.[/caption] Market leader Maruti Suzuki India’s (MSI) production during the period stood at 5,32,979 units, down 18.06 percent from the comparable period last fiscal. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) also curtailed its production by 10.65 percent at 80,679 units, while that of Ford India stood at 71,348 units, down 25.11 percent from the year-ago period. Tata Motors’ production was also down 20.37 percent at 59,667 units. Similarly, Honda Cars India’s output during the period under review stood at 47,043 units, down 18.86 percent from the corresponding period last fiscal. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) reduced its production during the period by 20.98 percent to 45,491 units. On the other hand, HMIL, the second largest player in PV segment in the country saw its production grow marginally by 1.77 percent at 2,39,671 units in the April-July period. Likewise, Volkswagen India’s production increased by 1.05 percent to 36,929 units. In the two-wheeler segment also total production was down 9.96 percent at 78,45,675 units as against 87,13,476 units in the same period last fiscal, as per SIAM data. Market leader Hero MotoCorp’s production was at 24,66,802 units, down 12.03 per cent from the year-ago period. Similarly, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) also reduced production by 18.5 per cent to 19,44,900 units while that of TVS Motor Co was down 8.07 percent at 11,54,670 units. Royal Enfield also cut its output by 22.35 percent to 2,40,190 units. In contrast, Bajaj Auto increased its production by 4.47 percent during the period at 13,89,396 units. Suzuki Motorcycle India also hiked its production by 24.51 percent to 2,83,291 units during the period. The current slowdown in the auto industry has forced manufacturers to reduce production which has resulted in retrenchment of 15,000 casual and temporary workers so far. Dealers body FADA has also stated that nearly 200,000 jobs were cut in the last three months while components industry body ACMA has cautioned that nearly one million jobs were on the line due to the market slump.