Major auto companies in India are looking to resume their productions plants in the country, as the government looks to open up the avenues for economic activities to start after the month-long lockdown. Hero Motorcycles has confirmed its plans for the coming weeks, and how it will be complying with the distancing and hygiene norms.
Hero has said it will commence operations in a graded manner at three of its manufacturing plants – Gurgaon and Dharuhera (both in Haryana), Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and additionally the Global Parts Center (GPC) at Neemrana in Rajasthan. “These manufacturing plants reopen from today and production at these facilities will commence from Wednesday,” as per the company statement.
This development will come as a sigh of relief for the industry which had to face the unprecedented situation of making zero sales in the country in April this year. The four-wheeler, two-wheeler as well as the three-wheeler market is looking to get back on its feet, and industry bodies like FADA and SIAM have made their voices heard to the Indian government earlier this months.
“With $120 billion in turnover, the sector contributes 7% to India’s GDP, 49% to the manufacturing output and creates employment for over 3.7 billion people. It is in this context that we are making this joint submission from the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), to allow for the sector to resume operations in complete unison,” SIAM, ACMA, and FADA wrote this letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs (HMA) on 1 May.
In addition to this, automakers like Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki are setting up their bases to kickstart production, and also providing their dealers with the necessary support to adjust to the new sale and marketing methods which are going to become the norm across the sector. “Only the essential staff will come to work at all the other facilities and corporate offices, observing social distancing and all prescribed safety measures. The remaining employees across all locations in India will continue to Work from Home (WFH) till further notice,” Hero said in its statement.
Hero also said that all people inside the plant will have to wear gloves, no visitors will be allowed inside the premises and all kinds of foreign or business gatherings will be restricted. Just like Hero, others are likely to follow the same business model going forward.