Maruti Suzuki Extends Rs 800 Crore to Support Dealers During COVID-19 Lockdown

The 21-day lockdown imposed due to the spread of COVID-19 in India has caused manufacturers to report a critical decline in sales in March. In light of the same, Maruti Suzuki has dedicated approximately Rs 800 to 900 crore to support its dealers during the lockdown.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director, Sales and Marketing Maruti Suzuki said, “Dealers are facing problems with cash flow right now. We have transferred Rs 800-900 crore in cash funds to dealers to support them at this point”.

In addition to this, he also stated that the company’s dealers had practically no units left in the BS-IV inventory by March 23 and therefore no support was required for the unsold stock.

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The company reported a Y-o-Y decline of 47 per cent after it managed to sell 83,792 units in March as automakers in the country were forced to suspend operations amid a nationwide lockdown aimed to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

India's auto industry, which is already under pressure from a slowing economy and lean demand, has been further hit by the suspension of operations.

Ahead of this, the auto giant had announced that it will begin the production of ventilators at its plant to help with the rising cases of COVID-19 in India. An arrangement was made with AgVa Healthcare, an existing approved manufacturer of ventilators. MSIL would work with AgVa Healthcare to rapidly scale up production of ventilators. The intention is to reach a volume of 10,000 units per month.

AgVa Healthcare would be responsible for the technology, performance and related matters for all the ventilators produced and sold by them.

MSIL would use its suppliers to produce the required volume of components and use its experience and knowledge to upgrade systems for the production and quality control of the higher volumes. Any other assistance required would also be provided. MSIL would also help, to the required extent to arrange to finance and obtain all permissions and approvals required to enable the higher production. MSIL would provide these services free of cost to AgVa Healthcare.