India’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has announced that it has run out of inventory of its car models the Swift hatchback and the Swift DZire sedan following a lockout at its Manesar manufacturing facility due to workers’ protest and violence at the site.
Bookings for these two car models are still open and the situation has been conveyed to dealers and customers, stated Mr. Mayank Pareek Chief Operating Officer (Marketing and Sales) Maruti Suzuki India (MSI). He added that about 10,000 units of both car models remain as inventory at present.
Both car models currently have outstanding bookings of 55,000 units and 65,000 units of the Swift and the Swift DZire respectively, 80 percent of which are for diesel versions. Mr. Pareek stated that depending on the ratio of bookings for petrol and diesel versions, it would take about 4-6 months for the company to clear the backlog of bookings for the two car models.
The company halted production at the plant until an investigation into the cause of the protest is through stating its primary concern to be the safety and security of its workers and executives.