The Hindu Business Line : Maruti, Nissan in talks over quantum of orders

New Delhi, Dec. 24 Maruti Suzuki on Wednesday said its first consignment of contract manufactured cars for Nissan is likely to be shipped during the next two to three months.

“We are still in discussions with Nissan on how much they will source from us. But we expect the first shipment to be dispatched by February-March,” said Mr Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, on the sidelines of a media interaction on the company’s road safety initiative.

Asked if Nissan was cutting orders from Maruti, Mr Nakanishi merely stated that talks were still on. Maruti had earlier announced that it would contract manufacture 50,000 cars for Nissan’s export market.

It had also said its newly launched compact car — A-Star — would be the model for the Nissan vehicle Pixo, which it would produce with minor modifications. However, with recession fears, Nissan is reported to have cut its orders from Maruti.

Network stock

Commenting on the production cuts, Mr Nakanishi said, “The slowdown in demand is world over. Even the BRIC economies are affected. So we are no exception. We hope we don’t have to cut production. But if the market demands, we will have to respond.”

He said the company will focus on minimising its inventory at the retail end.

“We are focusing on the network stock. If the network stock is overflowing, then we will have to readjust our productions,” said Mr Nakanishi.

‘No layoffs’

Maruti Suzuki has already cut production at its Gurgaon plant. “We have been able to adjust our temporary workers at the Manesar plant as it is operating at a higher capacity. So there have been no layoffs,” said Mr R.C. Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki.

Asked how far the excise duty cut had propped up sales, Mr Nakanishi said, “I can appreciate the measures taken by the Government for the cut in fuel price and excise duty. We will have to see how December goes. But we are hoping that demand picks up from January onwards.”

Driver training

Meanwhile, the company announced its road safety mission programme, which aims to train 5 lakh people over the next three years.

The company would use its existing institutes of driver training and research and its 47 driving schools across the country to train learners.

Maruti said its current facility can cater to 4 lakh learners and it would set up 4-5 new institutes in a year’s time. The company also aims to train one lakh learners from the underprivileged section at its own cost.

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