Suzuki Motorcycle plant shut for a week due to cyber-attack

PUNE: The Japanese two-wheeler maker Suzuki Motorcycle India has been forced to stop production at its factories due to a “cyber-attack” on its operations.

The production has been stalled since Saturday, May 10, and it is estimated to have incurred a production loss of over 20,000 vehicles in this timeframe, industry sources revealed to FC.

In order to tackle this unprecedented disruption, the company Suzuki Motorcycle informed its ecosystem that due to an “unprecedented business requirement”, it has postponed its annual supplier conference, which was scheduled to be held next week.

“We are aware of the incident and have promptly reported the same to the concerned Government department. The matter is currently under investigation, and for security purposes, we are unable to provide further details at this point in time,” said the Suzuki Motorcycle India spokesperson without divulging details.

The spokesperson did not specify the source of the attack or when the production will resume again.

Suzuki Motorcycle, which started its India operation in February 2006, was the country’s fifth largest two-wheeler producer in FY23, with production of close to a million units.

Just like its sister company, Maruti Suzuki, India is the largest market for the two-wheeler maker outside of Japan.

It is also a key export hub for Suzuki Motor Japan, with 20 per cent of the Indian output catering to key global markets.

India accounted for 50 per cent of the global output of Suzuki Motor Corporation and was one of the fastest-growing markets in the last financial year.

Suzuki’s global output grew by over 2.2 lakh units in FY23, and almost 85 per cent of incremental volumes came from India.

Suzuki Motorcycle has a market share of close to 5 per cent in the fiercely competitive Indian two-wheeler market, with its range of scooters Burgmann and Access enjoying a significantly high mindshare.

The scooters accounted for over 90 per cent of its total output in FY23, and the company has clocked 14 per cent market share.

Suzuki Motor has guided for global output to grow by 4.4 per cent in FY24, and India is expected to continue to drive global sales.