India’s Maruti Suzuki to cut production by 60% due to chip shortage

1 September 2021 03:29 pm

Maruti Suzuki, India’s biggest car maker announced this week that its vehicle production will contract by 60 percent this month as the company faces challenges in sourcing chips due to a global shortage of semiconductors.

The company had already cut down production in its plant in Gujarat previously and the shortage of chips will now impact production at its Gurugram and Manesar plants as well.

In a statement to the Indian media, the company said that the 60 percent drop in productions would mean only 68,000 vehicles would be produced in September, which in turn would hamper sales during the ongoing festive season.

“This means a longer waiting period for cars and will also lead to some of the variants becoming unavailable at showrooms.

“Shortage of semiconductors will stretch for September. As of now, it looks like supply will lag behind demand,” said Maruti Suzuki Senior Executive Director Shashank Srivastava in an interview with Indian media earlier this week.

According to German engineering and technology company Bosch, the chip shortage is a ground reality and it affects the world markets and not just India.

In an interview with Business Standard, Bosch Managing Director Soumitra Bhattacharya, MD stated that the challenge will be to manage the fluctuating demand, supply chain crisis and changing consumer behaviour all at once.