Buying a Maruti Suzuki car is set to become costlier again, with the country’s largest carmaker announcing its third price hike since May as rising input costs and inflationary pressures continue to weigh on the auto industry.
Maruti Suzuki India said on Monday that it will increase prices of select car models by up to Rs 20,000 from September.
Unlike the previous two rounds, which covered the company’s entire passenger vehicle portfolio, the latest hike will be limited to select models.
The latest move means customers looking to buy certain Maruti Suzuki models will have to shell out more at a time when the festive season is approaching and car demand typically picks up.
Maruti Suzuki’s latest price revision comes after announced within a span of a few months.
The company had first announced a price hike of up to Rs 30,000 from June, citing rising input costs. It then announced another increase of up to Rs 30,000 from August, marking its second portfolio-wide price revision in about two months.
The August increase covered the company’s passenger vehicle range, with the exact increase varying from model to model. The lineup included cars such as the Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio, WagonR, Swift, Dzire, Baleno, Fronx, Brezza, Ertiga, Grand Vitara, Jimny, Invicto and Victoris.
The September increase is different, however. This time, Maruti Suzuki has said the price revision will apply only to select models, with the increase capped at Rs 20,000.
The company has pointed to continued inflationary pressures and elevated costs.
Maruti Suzuki had earlier said it was absorbing a significant part of the increase in manufacturing costs through internal cost-saving measures. However, with commodity and other input costs remaining high, the carmaker said it had to pass on part of the additional burden to customers while trying to limit the impact on prices.
The company had also cited disruption to global trade routes and energy markets following the renewed Middle East conflict, which pushed up the cost of key raw materials and other inputs used in vehicle manufacturing.
The latest hike suggests that cost pressures have not eased enough for the carmaker to hold prices steady.
For customers, the immediate impact will depend on the model they choose because the September increase is not across the entire range.
The maximum increase announced this time is Rs 20,000, but the actual increase for individual models has not been specified in the Reuters report.
also mean buyers who have been delaying purchases could face higher prices than they would have earlier in the year.
This comes ahead of the festive season, traditionally an important period for India’s passenger vehicle market. Maruti Suzuki’s latest move therefore puts the focus on how manufacturers balance rising costs with the need to keep vehicles affordable during a key demand period.
Maruti Suzuki is not the only carmaker that has been dealing with higher costs.
Earlier this year, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles raised prices twice, while Mahindra & Mahindra and Hyundai Motor India announced one price hike each, according to the earlier India Today report.
The industry is therefore facing a broader challenge: manufacturers need to absorb higher raw material, logistics and other production costs without making vehicles significantly more expensive in an extremely price-sensitive market.
For Maruti Suzuki, which commands a large share of India’s passenger vehicle market, the latest increase is notable because it comes after two portfolio-wide hikes in quick succession.
With the third revision now limited to select models, buyers will need to check the revised price of their specific car before making a purchase.