Maruti Suzuki's production rose to 1,65,576 units in June as lockdowns eased

Maruti Suzuki has announced that its total production rose to 1,65,576 units in June as various states eased their coronavirus-induced restrictions. This is a four-fold increase as compared to 40,924 units produced by the carmaker in May this year when the country saw a massive rise in Covid-19 cases.

The country's largest carmaker had shut production between May 1 and May 16 in order to divert oxygen used at its industrial plants for use for medical purposes. The company had advanced its annual maintenance shutdown from June to early May.

In June, Maruti's mini cars Alto and S-Presso saw 26,316 units being produced as against 4,896 units in May. Production of compact cars including WagonR, Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Baleno and Dzire rose to 89,966 units last month as compared to 25,130 units in May. Production of utility vehicles including Gypsy, Ertiga, S-Cross, Vitara Brezza and XL6 increased to 35,917 units in June as compared to 9,106 units in May. Light commercial vehicle Super Carry's production stood at 2,539 units last month as against 296 units in May.

Maruti Suzuki also saw a rise in its sales figures in June thanks to the eased Covid curbs. The company sold a total of 147,388 units in last month - domestic and exports combined, as compared to 57,228 units sold in the same month of 2020. A total of 68,849 cars were sold in the compact sub-segment as compared to 26,696 units sold in June of 2020. Maruti also informed that its exports increased four-fold to 17,020 units last month.

In the view of the coronavirus pandemic, the carmaker also recently announced an extension of free service, warranty up to July 31, 2021. The extension will be applicable for the vehicles whose free service and warranty period expired between March 15 and June 30 this year.

(with inputs from agencies)