Maruti Suzuki is planning an extensive public relations campaign to reassure potential buyers. Under this, it expects to give some clarity on the situation at Manesar and give a new tentative delivery schedule for cars that have already been booked.

With no indication as to when the Manesar plant would restart production, it hopes the campaign will help keep customers within its fold and not lose out to competition. This is important because the festival season (bookings start by August) demand is around the corner and a month-long expected plant closure is likely to push waiting periods on diesel models – such as the Swift – to six months, from four.

In the first stage, the car market leader is directly contacting those who have already booked those models which are made at Manesar. Meanwhile, sources added that a following campaign through media advertorials is also being considered.

Mr Mayank Pareek, Managing Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) at Maruti Suzuki said, “We have a database of customers, those who have booked cars. We’re starting the process now where we’ll directly contact them.”

Another company official added that sales executives at dealers are also being trained to convey the situation to new customers.

“This was done last year as well when we faced the strike. Also, in 2003-04, we had taken out an advertisement when WagonR bookings were building up after a strike at a supplier factory in Chandigarh,” he said.

With fresh bookings for the Swift and Dzire continuing and production halted for 12 days now, orders are piling-up fast. Meanwhile, the existing inventory of 26,000 ready cars at the Manesar plant stock yard has already been dispatched to dealers.

Mr Deepesh Rathore, MD at IHS India, said that about 40 per cent of the customers could walk away to competing production from carmakers such as Hyundai, Ford or Toyota.

roudra.b@thehindu.co.in

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