Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd-owned Classic Legends Pvt Ltd said on March 23 that it has shut down the production at its Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh plant due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The maker of Jawa motorcycles said that its operations have been impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak, with supply chains having been hampered as well. The company also said that this will mean delayed deliveries of its various models.

“These are unprecedented times. Our thoughts are foremost on the safety and well-being of our customers and people engaged with us in different capacities. Coming to the disruption in production and delivery, we are confident and prepared to overcome the blip that Covid-19 has caused,” said Ashish Singh Joshi, CEO, Classic Legends.

The Pithampur plant capacity is expected to go upto to 10,000 motorcycles per month when the situation is fully normalised, he said.

“Since Jawa motorcycles has a strong waitlist of customers, there was negligible inventory of components from suppliers as parts were used to produce motorcycles as soon as they arrived. Consequently, supply disruptions due to Covid-19 has hit Classic Legends especially hard,” the company said in a statement.

The supply chain has dependency, mostly indirectly through tier-2 suppliers, on Chinese manufacturers for NIKASIL coating and a few other items like the LCD panel in the speedometer, it said. In India, component suppliers across the spectrum are in various stages of closure which has impacted the production schedules and therefore deliveries.

As a result, Jawa and Forty Two deliveries for February and March have been affected and it is expected to continue in April. Classic Legends also said that the Perak deliveries will not begin on April 2 as indicated earlier, due to the supply disruptions. The Jawa Perak was launched in India in November 2019.

“We shall provide updated delivery timelines for all models once clarity emerges,” it said.

On the positive side, Chinese factories have started giving production schedules again and once the situation in India normalises, it expects production to start at full capacity again, it said.

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