Maruti Suzuki has released its financial results for the first quarter of the financial year. The Board of Directors of Maruti Suzuki India Limited today approved the financial results for the period April-June, FY 2020-21 (Quarter 1). Owing to the global pandemic of COVID-19, it was an unprecedented quarter in the Company’s history wherein a large part of the quarter had zero production and zero sales in compliance with a lockdown stipulated by the government.
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Production and sales started in a very small way in the month of May. The Company’s first priority was the health, safety and wellbeing of all employees and associates across the value chain including its customers. Hence with carefully designed safety protocols, which went far beyond compliance levels, the production in the whole Quarter was equivalent to just about two weeks’ of regular working. The results have to be viewed in this context.
The Company sold a total of 76,599 vehicles during the Quarter. Sales in the domestic market stood at 67,027 units while the total number of Exports stood at 9,572 units. During the Quarter, the Company registered Net Sales of INR 36,775 million. The Company made a Net Loss of INR 2,494 million in the Quarter. It was partially offset by lower operating expenses and higher fair-value gain on the invested surplus.
While most companies have restarted production, showrooms continue to see lower footfalls and automakers are still waiting for signs of a return in demand. India went under lockdown for over two months beginning late March, as the government scrambled to curb the spread of the coronavirus, forcing several automakers to suspend manufacturing. And that is the prime reason behind the consecutive loss in the demand of automobiles as well.
Signs of revival
On the other hand, manufacturers are trying hard to get back up on their feet. Maruti Suzuki announced the commencement of bookings of the BS6 updated S-Cross. The S-Cross is the only model from Maruti Suzuki which is yet to comply with the stricter emission norms. The automaker recently announced that it is now accepting pre-orders for the BS6 crossover SUV in India for a token amount of Rs. 11,000. As reported earlier, the BS6 iteration of the S-Cross will be a petrol-only model since the largest carmaker in India has done away with all the diesel engine options in the updated emission standards.
The S-Cross will now feature a 1.5 Litre K-series petrol engine with Suzuki’s Smart Hybrid technology. This new powertrain is set to produce 104.69 PS of power at 6,000 rpm and 138 Nm of torque which peaks at 4,400 rpm and is the same unit which currently powers the Vitara Brezza and Ciaz. Transmission duties are set to be carried either by a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
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In terms of features, expect the car to be offered with provisions such as LED headlamps, auto-folding ORVMs, alloy wheels, engine push-button start, automatic climate control, cruise control, etc. It will also get state of the art Smartplay touchscreen infotainment system which will be compatible with Apple CarPlay as well as Android Auto.