Maruti joins other carmakers, hikes prices by up to Rs8,000

Maruti Suzuki India joined a series of auto companies that are raising prices of products across the board this year, with the firm announcing on Friday that it has increased prices of its entire product range by between Rs1,500 and Rs8,014.

According to a statement issued by the firm, the hike is due to a variety of factors, including rising commodity prices and input costs. A rise in transportation and administrative costs has also contributed to the decision.

''The hike in car prices is because of increase in commodity, transportation and administrative costs,'' the company said while revealing the model-wise increase in prices. The company's mainstay in the small and budget car segment, the Alto 800, will see its price increase by around Rs1,500 while the S-Cross priced at around Rs12.03 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) will see an increase of around Rs8,000, according to sources.

Maruti Suzuki is not alone in its decision. The end of 2016 witnessed almost all major auto-makers announce their intentions to hike product rates across the spectrum.

This includes automobile firms like Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nissan, Toyota, Renault, Mercedes-Benz India and Tata Motors. All firms cited rising input costs as the reason, while currency fluctuations had impacted foreign exchange.

''In these challenging year-end market conditions, we are constrained to consider price increase on account of factors like increased input costs, fluctuating exchange rates and increasing marketing expenses,'' Hyundai's senior vice-president, sales and marketing Rakesh Srivastava, had said while announcing an upcoming increase of as much as Rs1 lakh for various models in its portfolio.

Maruti Suzuki had last hiked prices in August last year, with its compact sport utility vehicle Vitara Brezza becoming more expensive by Rs20,000 and premium hatchback Baleno by Rs10,000. On a select range of other models, the price hike was between Rs1,500 and Rs5,000.