Maruti to increase production at Gurgaon plant

Is this the silver lining in Maruti Suzuki’s woes at the Manesar plant? Extra diesel engines, unused due to the 3-week lockout at the riot-stricken plant, could now be used to increase production at its Gurgaon plant instead, especially for the in-demand Ertiga MUV.

The Gurgaon plant is expected to increase production by almost 20%, from 2,000 units to about 2,400 units daily. The plant produces cars like Alto, Ritz, Eeco and Ertiga.

Launched in April 2012, the Ertiga is selling more than 6,000 units per month. The compact MUV currently has over 30,000 bookings and a waiting period of 3-4 months.

The extra engines will come from Suzuki Powertrain (SPIL), Maruti Suzuki’s engine and transmission maker, which is located at the Manesar facility. Partly owned by Suzuki Motor and Maruti Suzuki, it was recently absorbed completely by the latter to meet the growing demand for diesel vehicles in India. SPIL has the capacity to produce 1,100 diesel engines and 3,600 transmissions per day in three shifts. After the Manesar plant lockout, SPIL cut down to two shifts, but still produces enough engines to spare.

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