Maruti Suzuki suspends operations in Manesar and Gurgaon manufacturing units over Jat quota row

Maruti Suzuki, India's largest car maker by volume, temporarily suspended its operations in Manesar and Gurgaon plants Saturday, Feb. 20, due to the agitation in Rohtak and nearby areas. The supplies of certain components have been disrupted and hence, the company has been forced to suspend operations in the plants, said in statement.

Maruti Suzuki is currently working to arrange components from other sources and once the components are restored, normal operations will resume, the statement added. Manesar and Gurgaon are the only two plants currently functioning in the country. Hence, the suspension essentially means complete production halt of the Maruti Suzuki cars.

The unrest began after the protest demanding Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota for Jats turned violent leading to deaths of at least three people, Friday. The state highways remained blocked and almost 500 trains were affected. Supply of food items have also suffered, while schools remained shut in areas where the agitations turned violent.

Spread over 300-acres, the Gurgaon plant produces nine lakh cars every year. This plant also manufactures K-Series engines and has already produced over 10 lakh of them. The Manesar Plant is spread over 600 acres and houses 3 fully-integrated plants, with an annual capacity of 5.5 lakh cars. The combined output from Manesar and Gurgaon is currently about 5000 vehicles per day.

The temporary suspension is not expected to hit the sales of the company immediately as the dealers usually keep enough inventories of popular models such as Alto, Swift Dzire, Swift and WagonR. However, the supply of the Baleno hatchback that already commands nearly six months waiting period will be affected if the suspension continues for a longer time.