Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is weighing options for restoring production of its most popular models as recurring labor disputes at one of its plants threaten the company's lead in Asia's third-largest car market.
The next two to three weeks will be crucial for the automaker as it decides if it needs to shift manufacturing to its other plant in Gurgaon after rioting on July 18 shuttered its Manesar facility, Chairman R.C. Bhargava said Saturday. Violence that erupted in early July resulted in the death of a manager at the factory, which accounts for about 40 percent of Maruti's output, including DZire sedans and Swift hatchbacks.
The unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. reported a fourth consecutive decline in quarterly profit Saturday, even before July's riot, as it battles a weaker rupee, intensifying competition and cooling demand amid the slowest pace of economic expansion in almost a decade. Boosting output in Gurgaon is key to stemming any erosion in market share and reviving earnings growth, according to Deepesh Rathore, managing director at IHS Automotive in New Delhi.