The ongoing corona virus pandemic has created a lot of confusion on global business operations

On Sunday, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mercedes Benz and Fiat announced a halt to their production and other operations. Now, Toyota, Suzuki Motorcycle, Honda Cars India, Hyundai Motor India, Renault, Suzuki, Yamaha, General Motors have followed suit. The corona virus pandemic came at the same time when dealerships are desperately trying to clear off old BS4 stock — know more details.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors have brought all production operations to a standstill at their plant in Bidadi, Karnataka till further notice in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Government of Karnataka had announced that all labour-intensive industries should work at 50 percent strength on alternate days.

However, keeping in mind the safety of employees, the automaker chose to completely shut down production at the plant. All its employees working at its regional SBUs (Strategic Business Units) in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru have been instructed to work from home.

Honda Cars India has also suspended all production operations at its plants in Tapukara in Rajasthan and Greater Noida in UP until 31st March 2020. All its employees at the corporate offices will work from home. Though the current surmise is that production will start on 1st April 2020, this will depend on the situation in the country at that point in time.

In an announcement made just about a day ago, Suzuki Motorcycle India has also halted production at its Kherki Dhaula, Gurgaon plant until further notice. The company has stated that the protection of its employees and stakeholders is the primary priority and that it would take all steps to ensure their safety. Employees and associates of the company have been told to work from home.

Hyundai Motors India Limited has also issued a statement of suspension of operations at its Chennai facility. No date on which they will resume operations has been detailed as that will depend on government advisories. The company will continue with their initiatives with regard to 24×7 roadside assistance to customers in the event of an emergency while for those customers who will not be able to avail vehicle warranty / extended warranty or free servicing either due to ill health or due to dealerships being closed, the company will offer extended support for a period of 2 months.

Along with all leading automakers shutting down production, SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) has also advised component makers to stop production to ensure safety of their employees. While Mahindra & Mahindra has shut down production, Anand Mahindra has taken to Twitter to state that his company will commence work on how it can make ventilators at its plants while it will also offer its holiday resorts as temporary car facilities and help the Government of India in building these centers.