Hit by 'cyberattack', Suzuki Motorcycle India halts production at its manufacturing units

Cyberattacks are growing in number and sophistication.

Suzuki Motorcycle, a few days ago, even informed its ecosystem that it has postponed its annual supplier conference -- scheduled to be held next week -- citing an 'unprecedented business requirement'.

About the recent developments:

After being hit by an alleged 'cyber-attack' on its operations, Suzuki Motorcycle India has been forced to halt production at its factories, as per reports.

As per reports, the production has been stalled since 10 May, and may have estimated to have incurred a production of loss of over 20,000 vehicles during this timeframe.

Words from Suzuki India spokesperson:

“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," Suzuki Motorcycle India spokesperson said.

Though the spokesperson did not specify the source of the attack or hinted when the production will begin again.

From Business point of view:

In FY 2023, Suzuki Motorcycle was the country’s fifth largest two-wheeler producer, breaching a production of close to a million units. Suzuki Motorcycle is a key export hub for Suzuki Motor Japan, with 20% of the Indian output catering to key global markets.

In FY 2022, India accounted for 50% of the global output of Suzuki Motor Corporation. The firm's global output surged by over 2.2 lakh units in FY23, and almost 85% of incremental volumes came from India.

As per details, in the highly competitive Indian two-wheeler market, Suzuki Motorcycle has a market share of close to 5%, with its range of Burgman Street and Access scooters catering the market. Both the scooters accounted for over 90% of its total output in FY23. The firm enjoys a market share of 14% in this space.

It is expected that operations may resume next week.

Other incidents of cyber attack:

Couple of years back, Honda plants in Brazil and India have halted operations as the Japanese carmaker battles to recover from a cyberattack that affected several factories worldwide. French carmaker Renault also stopped production at several sites to prevent the spread of a global cyber attack that hit its computer systems.