Suzuki Motorcycle India commenced production operations at its Gurugram plant on 18th May, after a break of 55 days. The company today announced opening of their dealerships across India. Though not all dealers are open, only 50% have opened. Those who are open, are offering sales as well as service of the entire range of Suzuki two wheelers from Gixxer to Intruder to Access scooter.
Suzuki India had suspended production on March 23, 2020 following Government of India orders in view of the coronavirus pandemic. With 50 percent of its dealerships opened, the company has already noted sales of 5,000 units while 50,000 vehicles have been serviced.
The company has commenced operations with limited workforce. But this will be enhanced in the days ahead and production will return to full cycle. Suzuki Motorcycle India follows strict social distancing and safety and hygiene norms at all of its dealerships and service centers. It takes care of both its workforce and customers and has released a list of Standing Operating Procedures for all dealerships to abide by.
The standard charter of guidelines lists out wearing of masks, regular sanitization of plant and showrooms and avoidance of movement in large groups. The company has also installed a disinfectant chamber for all persons to pass through to ensure the safety of showrooms and protect visitors.
Where sales are concerned, Suzuki was the only two wheeler maker to post positive growth in the past fiscal even as the entire auto industry suffered low sales. Suzuki sales grew 2.5 percent to 6,85,223 units in FY2020 as against 6,68,787 units sold in the same period of the previous year. The company now plans to bring in various customer friendly initiatives to increase sales and to extend support to its dealer partners in this time of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Last month the company removed various superbikes from its website. Each of these superbikes were BS4 compliant and hence the company has updated its website by removing all the big bikes that did not comply with these stricter emission norms. These included the V-Strom 650, GSX-S750, GSX-S1000, GSX-SF1000, GSX-R1000, V-Strom 1000 and the Hayabusa. In the coming weeks, Suzuki plans to launch BS6 versions of their select premium motorcycles.
Suzuki will re-open the remaining 50% of their dealer network in the coming days. This will largely depend on the local authorities giving the green signal, as most of these dealers are in the red zone.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
