Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) today advised Maruti Udyog (MUL) and Hyundai Motors India (HMIL) not to target each other in advertisements.Hearing a petition filed by HMIL against a particular sales campaign by MUL, an MRTPC bench asked MUL to file its reply on whether it had discontinued the advertisement.The commission observed that although it had not given any stay following the complaint filed by Hyundai, the parties should themselves stop targeting each other.HMIL alleged that the technical objection raised by MUL in the advertisement against HMIL's product were not merit-based.In the advertisement, published in August in some English dailies, MUL had compared its own cars with other car-makers, including Hyundai, and claimed that resale value and mileage were higher while the maintenance cost was lower for its models as against those of its rivals.The commission later directed MUL to file its reply within two weeks though it declined to grant stay on further publication of the said advertisement.
