New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, Thursday reported a 12.7 percent drop in total sales during August because of labour unrest at its Manesar factory.
The company managed to sell a total of 91,442 vehicles in August, including 14,356 units for export. It had sold a total of 104,791 vehicles in the like month of 2010.
Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant has been bogged down by labour issues since June this year. It had to face a production loss of around 12,600 cars, as 2,000 employees struck work for 13 days that month demanding recognition of a second union. The strike ended June 17.
However, in late August, the company again faced problems at the same facility.
‘The disruption in production at the company’s Manesar plant adversely impacted the sales numbers during the month (August). The Swift, SX4 and A-star are being manufactured at the Manesar plant,’ Maruti Suzuki said in its monthly statement.
Though the company did not report declines in sales of individual car models, the compact car segment — which features models like Swift, Estilo and Ritz — registered a 26.9 percent drop in sales at 16,043 units.
The mini segment, which has models like Alto, A-Star and Wagon R, also saw sales falling by 18.3 percent to 37,496 vehicles.
Exports by the company, however, rose 18.5 percent to 14,356 units in August.
Total sales during March-August, also showed an 8.3 percent drop to 448,268 units, with domestic sales declining 7.4 percent to 394,273 vehicles. Exports fell 14.7 percent to 53,995 units during this period.
