Maruti Suzuki’s car production decreased by 8 percent
The production of the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has been affected because of the shortage of this equipment. Know what is the entire episode.
The production of the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has been affected by semiconductor shortage. The company said in a regulatory filing that its total production in August declined by 8 per cent year-on-year to 1,13,937 units. A total of 1,23,769 units were produced in the year-ago period. The auto major said the company’s production volumes in August 2021 were affected due to shortage of electronic components (semiconductors).
Semiconductors are silicon chips that fulfill control and memory functions in products ranging from automobiles, computers and cell phones to various other electronic items. The use of semiconductors in the auto industry has increased globally in recent times as new models are coming with more and more electronic features such as Bluetooth connectivity and driver-assistance, navigation and hybrid-electric systems.
MSI said the total passenger vehicle production last month stood at 1,11,368 units as against 1,21,381 units in August 2020. On the other hand, the production of mini cars in the Alto and S-Presso models stood at 20,332 units last month, up from 22,208 units a year ago.
Similarly, the manufacturing of compact cars like WagonR, Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Baleno and DZire declined from 67,348 units in August 2020 to 47,640 units last month. However, the production of utility vehicles (UVs) like Gypsy, Ertiga, S-Cross, Vitara Brezza and XL6 increased to 29,965 units last month as against 21,737 units in the same month of 2020.
The company registered an increase in the production of its Eeco van to 10,430 units last month as compared to 8,898 units in August 2020. MSI said production of its light commercial vehicle Super Carry last month stood at 2,569 units as against 2,388 units in the year-ago month. The company had reported a 58 per cent increase in total production in July to 1,70,719 units on a year-on-year basis.
On August 31, the company announced that it expected total vehicle production in September at its plants in Haryana and Gujarat to be just 40 per cent of normal production due to semiconductor shortages.
The company has a production capacity of about 15 lakh units per annum at its Gurgaon and Manesar plants in Haryana. In addition, Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG), a 100% subsidiary of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation, has an additional installed production capacity of 7.5 lakh units per annum.
Maruti Suzuki Gujarat, which exclusively supplies cars to Maruti Suzuki India, had announced that it would curtail production activity at its Ahmedabad-based manufacturing plant in August due to semiconductor shortage. The company had also decided to reduce production to a single shift in some of the manufacturing lines at the plant. All the units produced in SMG are supplied to MSI.
