[abhi413]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I think the people who booked diesel swift might directly switch to Punto MJD/i20 CRDi and increase its sales, at least those who are getting panicky about the unknown waiting time. It will be interesting to see the october sales figures of Punto, Polo and i20 in particular.

In that case I cannot help but feel happier for Fiat . Punto is a great vehicle which has been messed up by it's own people who have done little to improve Fiat's brand perception. However for a typical Desi to shift from Swift to Punto (i.e. from Maruti to Fiat) the motivation has to be really big, IMHO.

The i20 still stands to gain the most followed by the Polo, being from the stables of a more premium brand (VW in this case)!

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by download2live

And we are seeing what is happening now when capitalist Manmohan and the company are left to run amok. 2G, CWG, Bellary, Paid news etc etc.

All these happened because the Babudom is still in place. Why would one need to implement license quota etc for 3G or 2G? Instead can't they set and publish a fixed cost?

Example: the license fee for implementing a 3G network in Kerala is 200 crore. ANYONE who can shell out 200 crore will/must get a license within 24 hours. No questions asked.

Babudom won't allow this. MMS flourished because he had the support of Mr. Narasimha Rao, the best prime minister ever. MMS is nothing, compared to him.

[.sushilkumar]

finally production has been halted.

Strike-hit Maruti Suzuki to halt production of Alto, Swift, Dzire and Sx4 - The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki will halt production of some of its popular models, including the best-selling Swift hatchback, with the ongoing strike at one of its plants disrupting supply of critical components.

The other models affected by the strike at Manesar include the latest version of its small car Alto and the mid-sized sedans Swift Dzire and SX4. Until the supply of components resumes, the company will roll out only the Maruti 800, the Eeco, the Omni and the Gypsy models which do not use components made in Manesar.

The state government, on Wednesday, declared the strike illegal and asked the agitating workers to immediately vacate the company premises. Though Maruti's Gurgaon plant remains functional, it is operating at just over a fifth of its capacity due to shortage of components - from the Manesar-based engine and transmission maker Suzuki Powertrain India (SPIL), in particular, which has remained shut since October 7.

On Wednesday, the Gurgaon plant churned out just 600 units against its capacity of 2800. The Manesar plant, which is in the grip of labour unrest, is used to produce the Swift and the diesel engines that power the company's most sought-after models.

Of its three car-making plants in Gurgaon, the company is likely to operate just one over the next few days. "There are several combinations being worked out to optimise production at the Gurgaon plant for the time being," a senior executive said.

While the workers reiterated their demand that 1,100 contract labourers at the Manesar car assembly plant must be reinstated, the company refused to relent.

"The workers have broken the agreement and their weeklong siege of the premises has worsened the situation, with the parent Suzuki Motors expressing concern over Indian operations," Maruti Suzuki India Chairman RC Bhargava said.

Rajesh Kumar, general secretary of SPIL employees union, however, said the company had failed to fulfil its part of the deal. Trade unions in the Gurgaon-Manesar-Dharuhera-Bawal industrial belt have announced plans to jointly hold a protest rally at Maruti's Manesar plant on Thursday in support of the striking workers.

[hvs]

I fail to understand why the govt sided with the co. more so when there were allegations of malpractices like exploitation etc of employees/workers.
I feel that workers are not fools to cut the branch on which they sit, they can never think of harming the source of their bread unless pushed to brink....
Seriously, there's more than meets the eye there...

[deky]

I was having a tete a tete with a Maruti Dealer in Gurgaon. He said that the whole movement was politically motivated and had to do a lot with Hisar by-polls.

He further added that as of now his business is not suffering as they have "enough" stock to last them for the next 4-5 days, but after that he is fretting the situation too.

On speaking to him about the all new Swift, I was surprised when he told me that he already has 2300+ bookings (all over his dealership network in NCR region). He said people are even willing to wait for like 1 yr + for the delivery. Which I felt was a crazy length of time, but with the situation that MSIL is, I have a feeling that it might get true.

I also touched the topic of "sabotaged cars" to which he was pretty vague, neither he confirmed it nor he rejected the theory!!

[hvs]

I'm highly skeptical of this "sabotage theory" put forth by Maruti-Suzuki. How can you take away constitutional right to protest peacefully from the workers...??
I may sound like a socialist here but I only feel that the company should not impose stupid conditions on its workforce and rather make them feel like a responsible and important part of the framework..
A happy employee is key to successful business

[vikrantj]

I think Japs have misunderstood Indian working conditions. Well back there a person can work longer hours due to climatic conditions. Here in India it is simply not possible. So apply all production fundas from Japan to India is simply a ridiculous idea. Instead they should be looking at innovative production techniques that could achieve higher production with lesser fatigue.

[hvs]

I wonder how many 'sabotaged quality' cars actually skipped management's watchful eyes and reached the dealers & then unsuspecting customers....!
IMHO, Maruti made a blunder when it publicized that workers has sabotaged quality of cars.
This, infact, also breeds mistrust and shakes faith of prospective buyers, more so when Maruti itself says that workers has sabotaged quality of cars.

[sdp1975]

Some folks have suspected that this could be one of the cars from the "sabotaged" lot - go through the entire thread :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...30-days-2.html


Apparently, the ECU in the car was replaced. Maybe the workers infected the ECU by planting a virus in it ?

[libranof1987]

Here's some support for the striking workers :

Maruti strike saga: HC refuses to declare strike illegal - The Times of India

The Court states that the strike is not illegal. However, it also directs that the protestors carry out the strike outside a 100 metre circle from the company premises.

With this ruling, doesn't look like either side is going to compromise soon.

As result of the strike, Maruti loses image, customers and production takes a beating. And consequently, a lot of this will be vented out on the workers. Terrible viscious circle!

[shashank.nk]

Looks like both parties are trying to arm twist the other into agreeing to their demands and have hit a deadlock.
With the matter being dragged to the courts, its only gonna go from bad to worse for both the manufacturer and workers.
I think this time around the strike may go well beyond the 33 days!

OT : Wonder how it will affect the waiting periods for New Swift

[anjan_c2007]

It appears that both the management ((too hare brained) and the workers (too militant) are erring and their game for upstaging one another has reached its peak.
Their Gurgaon plant which was mostly peaceful lately has also revved up to support the Manesar workers.
(1) Can only hope that good sense should prevail and the festival season demand is cashed upon by the company.
(2) Or else , the competition has never had it so good. They will fulfill the market demand and lure the hapless buyers left on the middle of the road by MSIL.

[DevilsCry]

People are talking about how this will affect Swift's sale. Will not it affect Alto too? With Eon's recent launch and non-availability of Alto, Maruti's monopoly in A segment might get over in a few months.

Swift will always bounce back as leader of its segment no matter how long the problem persists.

[hvs]

Maruti Alto for 2.34L onwards now.!

[filcord]

Originally Posted by hvs

....IMHO, Maruti made a blunder when it publicized that workers has sabotaged quality of cars.
This, infact, also breeds mistrust and shakes faith of prospective buyers, more so when Maruti itself says that workers has sabotaged quality of cars.

If one has read the Maruti press note, it says that some cars were deliberately dented by some disgruntled workers. A dent is easily visible and also easily repairable, and also something that is typical of the mindset of a disgruntled worker. He wants his protest to be seen, not to lurk unseen deep in the bowels of the product.