Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) will temporarily halt manufacturing at its four plants in India, from May 1, 2021 to May 15, 2021 keeping in mind the current COVID-19 scenario in the country. The company said it will utilize these days to carry out maintenance activities at all its plants. Keeping an eye on the fluid COVID-19 situation, HMSI will review its production plan accordingly, in the coming months. The company also said that all Honda office associates will continue to work from home and extend all possible support to customers and business partners. Only essential staff will be working at its plants and offices across the country. Honda has four manufacturing facilities in India in Manesar in Haryana, Tapukara in Rajasthan, Narsapura in Karnataka, and Vithalapur in Gujarat.
Other automotive manufacturers such as Hero MotoCorp have decided to temporarily halt manufacturing operations in view of the escalating COVID-19 situation in India. In a press statement, Hero MotoCorp said that the company has decided to proactively halt operations temporarily at all of its manufacturing facilities across the country, including its Global Parts Centre (GPC).
Maruti Suzuki India too announced that it has advanced its annual maintenance shut down from June to May 2021. This coincides with the Government of India’s call for companies to free up industrial oxygen consumption, which could instead be used for medical purposes. The carmaker will shut both its Gurugram and Manesar plants, in Haryana, from May 1 to May 9, 2021. In fact, the company has also said that Suzuki Motor Gujarat, the wholly-owned plant of Maruti’s parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation has also taken the same decision for its factory.