The slowdown in the automobile sector and fall in sales seems to be taking a grave turn with auto major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) on Friday announcing a production shutdown of 8-14 days in its various plants during the ongoing July-September quarter.
According to the company, the decision has been taken to align its production with the sales requirements.
"The company in the auto sector, and Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Limited (MVML), a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, as part of aligning its production with sales requirements, would be observing 'No Production Days' ranging between 8-14 days in various plants of the company and MVML during the second quarter of the financial year 2019-2020," the company said in a regulatory filing.
It added that it does not envisage production suspension to have any impact on the availability of vehicles in the market as adequate inventory is available to fulfil the demand.
The auto industry in the country is going through a slowdown for the past few months largely due to liquidity constraints as well as high GST rates and interest costs.
Auto sector representatives have already met the Finance Minister and discussed the issues they are facing.
In July, M&M's total vehicle sales fell 15 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 40,142 units.
Speaking at the company’s 73rd AGM, Chairman Anand Mahindra pitched for a cut in GST rates or removing the cess, which he said would bring some temporary relief. He said that short term measures were required to bring in consumption. He also spoke about taking a look at registration fees and a rollback of increases in road tax.