Auto sector slowdown! Maruti cuts production

The country's largest car maker Maruri Suzuki India on Friday said it has cut down production on most of its models this month due to slowdown in the market.

The company said by October it will finalise the location for setting up its new production facility, which could entail an investment of about Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion).

"We have reduced the production of all the models except Swift and DZire. The market is not doing good now," Maruti Suzuki India managing director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said.

He, however, declined to specify by how many units the company has cut down its production.

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When asked about the sales target, MSI chairman R C Bhargava said, "The current slowdown is short term and the market will revive during the festive season. However, we will not achieve a double digit growth during the fiscal."

On MSI's plan to enhance capacity, Bhargava said the company is scouting many locations in different states, including Gujarat for setting up a facility.

"We have been looking at various sites for almost one year. Gujarat has an advantage as our Mundra port for export is located there," Bhargava said.

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He said the company is likely to finalise the location by October this year.

Talking about the capacity of the planned facility, Bhargava said:"The ultimate optimum size will be to have installed capacity of 7.5 lakh to 10 lakh units per year. It should require an investment of Rs 6,000 crore."

The facility is likely to be operational by 2017, he added.