NEW DELHI, NOV 27: Hit hard by recession, market leader Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) today said it had slashed production and sales during November 1998, was likely to take a dip of 20%.In the increasingly competitive car market, MUL also blamed the mandatory requirement of permanent account number (PAN) for purchase of four wheelers for the negative growth in sales. "The impact of recessionary trends was particularly felt in the month of October and the first half of November," MUL said in a statement here.MUL said the requirement of PAN number of vehicle purchases compounded the usual fall in sales in November and projected that it would continue in December as well. The cut in production was made in the first week of November, the company said.MUL, now facing severe competition from small cars like Hyundai Santro, Daewoo Matiz and the oncoming Tata Indica, had initiated a number of measures to prop up sales. "As a result of marketing and sales of efforts of dealers retail sales in the second half ofNovember have shown significant improvement," MUL said.
