SML Isuzu to shut chassis division at factory for six days

SML Isuzu will keep its chassis division closed for six days due to falling demand for commercial vehicles and rising inventory levels.

"Due to continued low demand in the automobile sector, the company has decided to observe block closure (chassis division) for six days from September 16 to 21 at its manufacturing plant located at village Asron in district Nawanshahr," it said in a statement.

"In the bus body division, need-based production will continue," said the manufacturer of buses and trucks. SML Isuzu is a joint venture of Sumitomo Corporation and Isuzu Motors of Japan.

The automobile industry is undergoing a crippling slump with nearly all manufacturers report a slowdown in sales and job losses due to subdued consumer sentiment amid an economic slowdown.

In August, medium and heavy commercial vehicles sales were down 54.3 per cent at 15,573 units year-on-year while light commercial vehicles sales down 28.2 per cent at 36,324 units in the year-ago period, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Representatives of major automobile manufacturers have urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lower the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 28 per cent to 18 per cent.

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