Maruti to recall 1500 cars

                                                                                

New Delhi, Nov. 27: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd will recall around 1,500 units of its popular hatchback Swift, sedan Dzire, utility vehicle Ertiga and the A-Star manufactured in October to rectify a possible problem with the steering column.

India’s No. 1 car maker said it “will inspect the steering column of 1,492 vehicles (which includes 306 Ertigas, 592 Swifts, 581 Dzires and 13 A-Stars), manufactured between October 19 and 26, 2013”.

“If the steering column is found defective, the company will replace the steering column free of cost,” Maruti added.

The company clarified that the inspection was limited to this particular period and to cars sold in India and “does not pertain to any other vehicle of the company or any of its exports”.

Maruti Suzuki dealers will contact car owners, the company said, adding that the new steering column has been despatched to dealer workshops.

“Recalls do not necessarily mean major defects. It is a healthy sign that the auto industry is proactive in addressing potential problems,” market analyst Sudeep Sengupta said.

Maruti manufactured about 6.5 lakh cars between April and October, the most being the Swift and Dzire. It produced nearly a lakh Dzires and about 1.38 lakh Swift, Ritz and Estilos.

Car companies have recently been proactive in recalling vehicles to address safety issues since the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers introduced a voluntary recall policy. Analysts estimate the number of recalls at over 3 lakh cars.

Recently, General Motors India has recalled 1.14 lakh units of its multi-purpose vehicle Chevrolet Tavera, manufactured between 2005 and 2013, to address emission issues. GM has also recalled 4,000 diesel Sails to fix an engine problem.

Earlier in July, Ford India had recalled 1,000 units of the diesel variant of the EcoSport within a fortnight of its launch to rectify defects in the instrument used to start the engine.

In February 2010, Maruti had recalled about one lakh units of the A-Star to replace a faulty fuel pump part. It was the company’s last big recall.

In 2011, too, the company had ordered an inspection of around 13,157 units of the Swift, Dzire and Ritz for possible problems with the connecting rod bolts.