No Holiday At Maruti Suzuki Even On Sunday: Here’s Why
Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest carmaker, is running its plants and supply operations even on Sundays and holidays this festive season. The unusual step highlights just how strong demand has been in the weeks leading up to Diwali, and how the company is adapting its production rhythm to avoid bottlenecks.
Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer for Marketing and Sales, confirmed that retail sales in September grew by 27.5 percent year on year. In the first eight days of the festive cycle, Maruti delivered nearly 1.65 lakh vehicles, which is the company’s best showing for this window in a decade.
These are not just incremental gains; they mark a level of demand that cannot be absorbed by ordinary schedules. The company believes that skipping holidays is necessary to prevent waiting lists from ballooning and to keep dealers supplied.
Under normal circumstances, Maruti plants run six days a week, with Sundays reserved for rest and maintenance. This year, managers have ordered full-week operations. Assembly, welding, paint, and logistics units are all working through what would usually be downtime. Dealers are receiving vehicles in faster cycles so that showroom floors remain stocked.
The decision carries additional costs. Overtime wages, transport bills, and stress on machinery all go up when plants run nonstop. However, the company sees these as necessary trade-offs. The alternative would be stretching waiting periods for models such as the Swift, Baleno, WagonR, Brezza and Grand Vitara -0 cars that form the bulk of festive bookings.
Festive season accounts for a major share of the car industry’s annual sales. Buyers often time purchases with Navratri and Diwali, making it a once-a-year window that cannot be recovered later.
If customers face long delays, they may switch to competitors or defer buying altogether. For Maruti, which already holds nearly 42 percent of the market, protecting this edge is critical. Running factories on Sundays is a sign that management will not risk losing momentum.
Continuous production requires adjustments at every level. Workers need to be rotated to avoid fatigue, while maintenance staff must ensure machines do not suffer breakdowns from overuse.
Vendors supplying components must also step up production to meet Maruti’s altered schedule. From tyres and seats to electronics and paints, hundreds of suppliers are tied into the system, and all must align. This creates a ripple effect across the wider auto ecosystem.
For buyers, the immediate benefit could be quicker deliveries. Waiting times for popular models may reduce, at least temporarily, easing pressure on dealerships.
Customers are more likely to get vehicles delivered in time for Diwali. However, industry observers caution that continuous operations also carry risks. If supply chains falter or equipment suffers downtime, the benefits could be blunted.