Maruti Suzuki Reopens 600 Dealerships
Maruti Suzuki has reopened almost 600 dealerships to commence deliveries. 474 of those are Arena outlets, 80 are Nexa and 45 are commercial. In addition, the carmaker plans to resume operations at its Gurgaon and Manesar plants from May 12. Maruti Suzuki has over 3,000 dealerships across the country under the three brand umbrellas.
Hyundai Reopens 250 Dealerships
The South Korean carmaker, Hyundai also resumed operations at 250 of its dealerships. They have 500-odd dealer network for sales and there’s reportedly a lot of pending orders, which they can clear with existing stock. This should refill the dealers’ working capital to manage their immediate fixed and variable costs.
Honda Applies For ZR-V Trademark
Honda has applied for the ZR-V trademark at the World Intellectual Property Organization. A confusing nomenclature for Honda’s SUVs leaves us clueless about where the ZR-V would fall in the lineup. CR-V being their largest crossover in India and WR-V being their smallest lead us to believe that the ZR-V would be smaller than the WR-V. But the BR-V is closer in price to the WR-V than the CR-V.
2020 Honda WR-V Facelift
Rumours suggest that it’ll probably share its platform with the Amaze. The WR-V shares its underpinnings with the Honda City and Jazz. Using the cheaper and more compact platform from the Amaze should allow Honda to price it aggressively in the crowded subcompact SUV space — if the rumours turn out to be true. In that case, it’s clearly designed keeping the Indian market in mind.
Don’t expect to see the ZR-V in the metal so soon. The WR-V still exists and the 2020 facelift model will go on sale soon. Bookings are open for this crossover so there’s still has about half a generation (3.5 years) before we see the ZR-V in the showrooms.
Commencing Public Transport Operations Under Consideration: MoRTH
Minister of Road, Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, recently said that efforts are underway to commence airline, bus and railway operations. Even when they do become operational, expect certain guidelines to stay in place for the health and safety of the staff and passengers. The minister is also concerned about workers and labourers migrating back to their home towns as it could make it more difficult to get going again once the lockdown is eased. Restarting economic activities and starting transport should allow migrant workers to reach home. It will also instil confidence and give them a reason to stay back if businesses show signs of returning back to normal again.