By IANS,
New Delhi : It seems to be a season of recalls for the automobile industry with Maruti Suzuki now deciding to call back some 100,000 ‘A-Star’ cars from the Indian market for a faulty fuel pump.
“In November 2009, we came across an anomaly reported in the fuel tank in some of the vehicles and by December 2009, we started contacting the customers through letters,” the company said in a statement.
“These vehicles belonged to a lot made till Aug 22, 2009 only. In case fuel is filled to the brim, beyond the fuel auto cut off position, a possible fuel leakage from the fuel pump mounting area may take place. No problem has been reported by customers.”
But as a matter of caution, the company said it decided to check all vehicles from the lot and the fuel pump gasket and ring were being replaced for around 100,000 cars including those exported overseas.
The news had an immediate impact on the company’s shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange, where its scrip fell to an intra-day low of Rs.1,320.25, to log a loss of 4.4 percent, before gaining some ground to close at Rs.1,336.85 with a loss of 3.24 percent.
Maruti’s decision comes barely a month after the Indian arm of another Japanese company Honda decided to recall 8,532 ‘City’ sedans manufactured in 2007 from India for a part replacement of power window switches that had the potential to catch fire.
“The third generation ‘City’ currently sold in India is not affected and does not require any part replacement,” the company spokesperson said, after its parent called back 646,000 ‘Jazz’ hatchbacks globally, excluding India.
Honda said there was a potential problem of smoke coming out from power window switches of its Indian City models manufactured in 2007 if water seeps in when left open during heavy rain or due to spillage of liquid.
The news dealt another blow to the Japanese car industry after Toyota Motor Corp announced massive recalls around the world.