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The country’s largest passenger vehicles manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) said that the monsoon may bring some cheer to sales from June onwards in the rural areas, which otherwise is muted due to the wide spread second wave of Covid-19. “Only two States — Assam and Andhra Pradesh — are not in lockdown situation right now — so retails are happening, but in a muted way. We have just re-started productions at our plants and will gradually increase productions as per demand,” a senior official at MSIL told BusinessLine .
He said there is a sharp fall in demand in the rural markets as the spike in Covid-19 is much higher and geographical spread is much more this time.
According to sources, the company has told its vendors to stay positive as demand becomes intact in the market and production at the facilities will gradually increase to around 4,500 units a day from around 1,000 right now.
Multi-speciality hospital
Meanwhile, MSIL on Tuesday started a multi-speciality hospital at Sitapur in Ahmedabad District of Gujarat, in partnership with Zydus Hospitals.
With a total capital expenditure of ₹126 crore, the hospital has been 100 per cent funded by the Maruti Suzuki Foundation – a CSR initiative of MSIL. The hospital will be managed and operated by Ramanbhai Foundation, the CSR arm of Zydus Group. The hospital is also assisting in taking care of Covid-19 patients and strengthening the fight against the pandemic.
“When our Gujarat car plant started, there was no major medical facility available in the region. We decided to build a good quality multi-speciality hospital for the benefit of all residents of that area and partnered with one of the best names in healthcare – Zydus Hospitals. Fortunately, it was in time for the Covid-19 second wave and we have converted it into a Covid care facility to help fight the pandemic,” Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, MSIL, said.
The hospital is expected to serve over 3.75 lakh people residing at Sitapur and adjoining villages at affordable charges, he said.
Starting with a 50-bed facility, the hospital can be progressively expanded to 100 beds basis the demand. The infrastructure is already in-place for the expansion of the facility. The facility is spread over 7.5 acres and is the first one in the area with super specialisation services, the company added.
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