Maruti Recalls 1 Lakh Cars Over Fuel Pump (23-Feb-2010)
In the largest ever recall by any Indian car maker, Maruti Suzuki stated that it was calling back 1 lakh ''A-Star''.
This is done in order to replace a faulty fuel pump gasket.
However, the replacement will be done at no cost to the customer and will help check possible fuel leak, although no complaints have been received from customers.
As a positive step, they decided to check all vehicles from the lot, around 1 lakh units including those exported overseas.
MSI had earlier recalled its hatchback Swift in 2005 to change bolts to reduce the front suspension noise in Swift petrol and in 2007 electronic control units of Swift diesel.
It had also replaced speedometers in M800 and Omni in 2008.
Meanwhile, it has so far changed the gasket in about 50,000 units of its fifth global model A-Star.
The model was launched on November 19, 2008, and the 998cc K10B petrol engined car is produced only in India at its Manesar facility while the recalled vehicles belong to a lot made till August 22 last year.
Previously, Maruti Suzuki India stated that it will hire an additional 950 people in the next fiscal including some expatriates from Europe and the US.
Maruti Suzuki India Managing Executive Officer Administration (HR, Finance and IT) S Y Siddiqui stated that they are looking at 950 people for 2010-11 and said a good chunk will go for research and development.
Currently, MSI has staff strength of 7,500 employees while enrollment in the next fiscal will be higher than the 800 people recruited this fiscal by the company.
Earlier, it was said that Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is looking towards the South East Asian market with its latest compact car Ritz, after successfully conquering Europe with its hatchback A-Star.
It has the first shipment of 500 units of Ritz to the Indonesian market while Indonesia is a leading destination for Ritz and is available in two variants-1.2 litre petrol and a 1.3 litre diesel engine.
Additionally, Maruti Suzuki has has out done its Japanese parent Suzuki Motor Corporation in overall production during 2009.
During 2009, Maruti Suzuki rolled out 9,66,399 units, while its parent Suzuki Motor Corporation produced only 9,08,302 cars.
Maruti Suzuki had launched its multi purpose vehicle (MPV) Eeco in Chennai while G. P. Chadha, Regional Manager (South) stated that the five-door, C segment vehicle had been specifically designed for India.
The spacious family car, with 7-seater and 5-seater options and 1200 cc engine, has been designed to meet the twin objectives of being a spacious family car and a dependable vehicle to run businesses.
Moreover, the new version, Eeco, had created quite a buzz with its attractive pricing, although Maruti Suzuki''s family car Versa may have not performed well in the past.
This means that we will get to see see more Eecos on the roads, not only as a personal car, but also as a cab.
Earlier, Maruti Suzuki India Limited sold a total of 87, 807 vehicles in November 2009 and this includes 11,448 units of exports.
Meanwhile, Maruti''s Japanese parent Suzuki said it will sell 19.9% stake to Germany''s Volkswagen for about $2.5 billion.
The cross-border deal is likely to have an optimistic fall-out for Maruti Suzuki, which could become a global hub for supplying small cars through Volkswagen''s strong network.
Suzuki confirmed the deal, but said it is too early to speculate on its implications on India (Maruti).
On the other hand, in order to retain its 50% market share in India''s passenger car market, Maruti Suzuki plans to increase its production capacity by up to 75% in the next five years.
We would like to reach 1.5-1.75 million units a year by 2015, depending on how the car market performs, said Mr Shinzo Nakanishi, MD of Maruti Suzuki. He added that this should help in keeping the market share of 50%, which it is currently having because by that time, the total car industry will be around three million units strong.
In addition, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said it will launch a new van within this fiscal to replace its MPV Versa, whose production has been stopped.
MSI is also looking to produce 1 million vehicles by the end of this fiscal and is also working on hybrid and electric vehicles for demo cars.
Moreover, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi invited Maruti Suzuki to set up a plant in the state while inaugurating the Asia''s first Rs 20-crore driving and technical training institute managed by Maruti Suzuki at Gajadara.
He said that it would be in the interest of company as it would be cheaper and economically viable to export cars from Mundra Port to Europe and other countries.
Regarding the financial performance, for quarter ended December 2009, the company reported rise of 62.20% in its net sales to Rs 7502.85 crores as compared to Rs 4625.81 crores of corresponding period of previous year. Further, net profit of the company rose 221.92% to Rs. 687.53 crores for quarter ended December 2009.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited is a publicly listed automaker in India. It is a leading four-wheeler automobile manufacturer in South Asia. Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan holds a majority stake in the company. It was the first company in India to mass-produce and sell more than a million cars.
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