Tata Motors, M&M, MG Motor say coronavirus outbreak in China impacting parts supply

Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and MG Motor India on Sunday said they are facing challenges in terms of component supply from coronavirus hit-China.

M&M has reported a 42 per cent decline in total sales at 32,476 units in February.

"...because of the unforeseeable challenges on the parts-supply from China, our BS-VI ramp-up has been affected," Veejay Ram Nakra, Chief of Sales and Marketing, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd said in a statement.

This has resulted in high de-growth in billing volume for February and dealer inventory is now under 10 days, he said.

"Going into March, we anticipate the challenge on parts-supply to continue for another few weeks, before we get back to normalcy," he added.

Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors Ltd said the outbreak of Covid-19 in China and a recent fire incident at one of its strategic vendors affected the vehicle production and wholesale volumes.

MG Motor India too reported lower retail sales of 1,376 units in February, hit by component supply constraints from China and other locations.

"The MG ZS EV has received a stupendous response in its debut month, with over 150 units delivered to our customers already," MG Motor India Director - Sales Rakesh Sidana said in a statement.

The unforeseen coronavirus outbreak has severely affected the company's European and Chinese supply chains, disrupting its production and impacting sales in February, he added.

The disruption in sales will continue through March, Sidana said.

"We are working towards stabilising the situation and are hopeful that reasonable normalcy will be restored by the end of March," he added.

However, major automobile manufacturers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Toyota Kirloskar Motor do not see any immediate impact on their production schedules due to disruption in supply of components from plants located in China.

The companies, however, said they continue to monitor the situation closely, especially the operations of their major suppliers, in order to face any adverse situation that may crop up in the future.