Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), which is easily the most popular car manufacturer in the country, has sold more than 4.6 lakh vehicles in Q1, 2018. A major chunk of its new car sales comes from its two very successful hatchbacks – the new Swift and Baleno. Both the cars enjoy unprecedented success and are so much in demand that buyers often have to wait for many months for the delivery of their cars. However, a new report claims that this waiting period is set to come down in the near future.
Suzuki’s new facility in Gujarat, however, is currently using just one production line. It’s now being said that this production line will be running at its full capacity by the end of this year. The line is capable of producing as many as 2.5 lakh cars a year.
With the increase in production at the Gujarat facility, the waiting period on the Swift and the Baleno will come down by a significant margin.
Speaking to NDTV, R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said,
The first line will be running at full capacity by the end of 2018 and will make 2.5 lakh vehicles, possibly even more. The second line is expected to kick into action in January 2019 and will slowly ramp up production while the third line with be complete by April 2020. Each line will make 2,50,000 vehicles, which will give a total capacity of 7.5 lakh vehicles a year from Gujarat.
The Baleno currently commands a waiting period of more than 4 months for some of its variants. For the Swift, which was launched in February this year, the waiting period extends to well over 9 months in some cases. The company has been successful at keeping the waiting period on the Dzire and the Vitara Brezza under check. Maruti has even said that the number of average buyers waiting for a new car has reduced from 1.25 lakh individuals to 1.10 lakh individuals over the last three months.
News Courtesy – NDTV
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