Brakes on automobile production

Hyundai Motor India said it is suspending manufacturing operations, near here, from March 23 till further notice. “We will await further notifications from State Government to resume plant operations,” the company said. The car maker has two plants, near here, with a capacity to roll out about seven lakh units per annum.

Renault Nissan Automotive India also said as a precautionary measure, it will be temporarily halting operations at its manufacturing plant at Oragadam, Chennai, from March 24, 2020 untilfurther notice.

Kia Motors India has temporarily suspended operations at Anantpur plant, with immediate effect. “All our dealerships remain on call and are available to our customers for all their requirements via all our digital channels. We are also ensuring deliveries are not delayed for eager customers as well as service requirements are also being attended to, without compromising on strong safety precautions,” it said.

Two and three wheeler maker TVS Motor in a regulatory filing said as an interim measure it has decided to shut operations at all its manufacturing facilities and offices for two days effective from Monday. “The company would take further steps after reviewing the situation,” the statement added.

Similarly, Eicher Motors that rolls out Bullet and other motorcycles in a regulatory filing said it has decided to suspend all operations globally, starting Monday, March 23, 2020, till March 31, 2020. “This will include the company’s manufacturing facilities across Tiruvottiyur, Oragadam and Vallam Vadagal in Chennai, Technical Centres across Chennai and at Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire in the UK, and all company offices and company owned dealerships in India,” Eicher Motors said.

Eicher Motors has further issued advisories to all dealerships in India to shut down for the same time period, or follow local administrative orders, as may apply.

“During this time period, company employees will continue to work-from-home, and there will be no salary deduction for any permanent or temporary employees or workforce, and no reduction of workforce,” Eicher Motors said.

India Yamaha Motor (IYM) has taken the preventive counter-measure of suspending its manufacturing operations at its plants in Chennai, Surajpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Faridabad (Haryana) till March 31, 2020. “The operations at the Surajpur plant and Faridabad Plant has been suspended from March 23 to March 31, whereas the operations at the Chennai plant will be suspended from March 24 to March 31. The employees working at the Head Office and Area Offices have been provided with the option to Work from Home till March 31,” it said.

Another two-wheeler maker Suzuki Motorcycle India has said it has suspended production at its manufacturing plant at Kherki Dhaula, Gurugram till further notice. “This is in view of the precautionary measures taken in the wake of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and in line with the Haryana Government directives in this regard,” Suzuki Motorcycle said.

“While the company has taken all measures to ensure the well-being of its employees at the workplace, we have announced a ‘Work from Home’ advisory to our employees and associates who are not involved with maintaining essential services,” Koichiro Hirao, MD, Suzuki Motorcycle said.

Auto-components arm of Hero Group, Rockman Industries has suspended all operations at its seven facilities till March 31, due to COVID-19 outbreak. Rockman has its manufacturing units in Ludhiana, Haridwar, Bawal, Chennai, Tirupati and Halol. All employees, contractual and permanent, will be retained. The company has an employee strength of 7,200 spread across their operations. “It is imperative that we all come together to fight this pandemic,” said Ujjwal Munjal, ED, Rockman Industries.