Maruti Suzuki at 23-mth low, down 2%

Maruti Suzuki is trading lower by 2% at Rs 1,097, its lowest since July 2009, on growth concerns.

According to analysts, the 13-day work stoppage at the company’s Manesar plant will have an impact on India’s largest passenger carmaker as it effectively erodes the sales of its best selling models, viz., Swift, Dzire and SX4. These collectively account for 0.125 million units sold in the first five months of CY11, constituting about 23% of the company’s total volumes.

“The supply distruptions and continued demand for diesel variants in favour of petrol is expected to push up this wait list,” according to Pinc Research.

However, the strike impact at the Manesar factory of the subsidiary Maruti Suzuki India was negligible, leading to an output loss of just 16,000 vehicles, Reuters report suggests, quoting CEO Osamu Suzuki, the head of Suzuki Motor Corp.

The stock opened at Rs 1,117 and hit a low of Rs 1,094 on the NSE. A combined 182,771 shares have changed hands on the counter till 1007 hours.