Shares of Ashok Leyland were trading at Rs 63.05 apiece, down 1.33 per cent over the previous close at the BSE. Shares of Ashok Leyland were trading at Rs 63.05 apiece, down 1.33 per cent over the previous close at the BSE.

Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland on Monday announced non-working days at its various manufacturing facilities following weak demand. “Following are the non-working days at our various plant locations during September 2019 due to continued weak demand for our products”, the company said in a BSE filing.

The move by the company follows slowdown in the automobile sector that has forced many manufacturers and component suppliers to cut production and plan temporary plant closures.

Accordingly, Chennai-based heavy commercial vehicle major has announced 16 non-working days for its facility in Ennore, five days at Hosur (Tamil Nadu) unit, 10 days each in Alwar (Rajasthan) and Bhandara (Maharashtra) unit and 18 days in Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) facilities.

Last month, Chennai-based TVS Group auto component maker Sundaram Clayton, automobile major Maruti Suzuki, and two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp had announced a suspension of production at their facilities in line with market demand.

Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have also said they are suspending automobile manufacturing in order to adjust production with market demand.

As per the data on car sales released today, the passenger vehicle sales plunged 31.57% year-on-year to 196,524 units in August, falling for the 10th straight month. This is the worst-ever fall for both the categories since SIAM started recording the data in 1997-98.

Retail sales continue to move in the slow lane leaving the dealers saddled with high inventory. This has reduced their ability to take further despatches from the manufacturers. In such a scenario the manufacturers have no option but to go for production cuts and plant shutdowns.

Shares of Ashok Leyland were trading at Rs 63.05 apiece, down 1.33 per cent over the previous close at the BSE.

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