In a notification to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest car manufacturer by volumes has said that it will resume operations at its Manesar plant from May 12, 2020. The same will be carried out with the necessary standards of hygiene and social distancing. There is no clarity on when operations at the company’s plants in Gurugram, Haryana and Hansalpur, Gujarat will be resumed. Maruti has already begun working on getting things back to normal as it issued a set of comprehensive safety guidelines for its dealerships to restart operations.
The SOP says that social distancing will be maintained in the best possible manner and employees are instructed to avoid physical contact as much as possible. Customers will be entertained one at a time and they will be given prior appointments. All people entering the showroom will be screened at entry gates for temperature. As far as test drives are concerned, that shall be provided only if customers ask for it and the vehicle will be sanitized after every round of a test drive.
The dealerships will especially sanitize the surfaces that are frequently touched like the steering wheel, gear knob, hand brake lever, switches, touchscreen and stereo system among others. The seats will also be covered with disposable covers which will have to be replaced after every test drive. All dealerships employees and their health will be monitored via an app, which works in conjunction with the Aarogya Setu app.