Monday, May 01, 2023
By Kamal Swami
Maruti Suzuki To Encounter Supply Bottlenecks This Year Too
The country’s leading car manufacturing company, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, has said that it is still struggling with the shortage of necessary raw materials during the current year. According to sources of the company, it is trying to mitigate the issue by sourcing electronic components from different sources. The sources added that it wasn’t able to manufacture around 1,70,000 units during the last financial year due to the shortage of semiconductor chips. The company is, however, taking necessary measures to minimize the shortage of chips.
Commenting on the situation, Rahut Bhartu, Executive Officer Of Corporate Affairs, at Maruti Suzuki said, the shortage of semiconductor chips is a global problem affecting production activities of different modules and models initiated by different companies. He also added, “All our efforts are to organize supplies through multiple sources”. Moving ahead, Bharti said, In addition, the company is working to eliminate the use of certain chips in models where they are not necessary. Bharti stated, "If there is a particular semiconductor in a particular variant of a model which is superfluous and not required, we are removing all such needs so that our consumption is minimum. All such efforts are going on, including negotiations at a global scale. Having said that, we are still vulnerable to supply-side bottlenecks."
Semiconductors are silicon chips that serve to control and store data in products ranging from cars, computers, cellphones, and other electronic items. The automotive industry's usage of semiconductors has increased in recent times with new models offering more electronic features such as Bluetooth connectivity, driver-assist, navigation, and hybrid-electric systems.
Regarding sales growth expectations for this fiscal year, Bharti noted that the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) estimates the passenger vehicle industry to grow between 5-7 per cent. He also expressed confidence that Maruti Suzuki's growth will exceed the industry average. "Maruti Suzuki should grow well beyond this. So we would be better than the industry," he said.
