Maruti Suzuki to shut ops at two plants for nine days from May 1

The country's top carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Wednesday said it has decided to advance maintenance shutdown at its two Haryana-based manufacturing plants by a month amid a surge in the COVID-19 cases across the country.

The auto major was supposed to take the shutdown at its two plants in Gurugram and Manesar in June, but due to the tsunami of Covid cases, it decided to take it one month earlier to save oxygen for medical needs.

MSI noted that as part of the car manufacturing process, it 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," it said.

Production in all factories will be closed for maintenance during this period, MSI said.

"The company has been informed that Suzuki Motor Gujarat has taken the same decision for its factory," it added.

With the rise in COVID-19 cases, the demand for oxygen for treatment purposes has gone up manifold, leading to shortages across the hospitals.

Already, the government has barred the use of liquid oxygen for any non-medical purpose and asked manufacturing units to maximise its production and make it available to the government for medical use.

MSI usually shuts its two plants at Gurugram and Manesar in Haryana twice a year, in June and December. The two plants have a production capacity of over 15 lakh units per annum.

Besides, Suzuki's Gujarat-based plant, which manufactures cars on a contract basis for MSI, has an annual production capacity of 7.5 lakh units.

With the second wave of COVID19 hitting hard, automakers have been trying hard to carry on with the production activities.