Maruti Suzuki hikes vehicle prices by up to 1.9%

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it has increased prices of its entire product range, except Celerio, by up to 1.9 per cent with immediate effect.

In a regulatory filing, the company noted that it has taken the decision to hike prices due to an increase in various input costs. The weighted average price rise in ex-showroom prices (New Delhi) across select models is 1.9 per cent, it added.

This is MSI's third price hike this year. The auto major has already raised prices in January and April this year, with an overall hike of around 3.5 per cent.

At present, the company sells a range of models from entry-level hatchback Alto to S-CROSS, priced between Rs 2.99 lakh and Rs 12.39 (ex-showroom prices Delhi) lakh, respectively.

The carmaker had last month said that a price hike was necessary, as it looks to protect its profitability amid a steep rise in commodity prices.

MSI Senior Executive Director (Sales and Marketing) Shashank Srivastava had said there was no other option left for the company, but to increase prices to offset the impact of high commodity costs.

He had said that steel prices have gone up from Rs 38 per kg last year to Rs 65 per kg in May-June this year. Similarly, copper prices have doubled from $5,200 per tonne to $10,000 per tonne.

In the case of precious metals, the overall demand has gone up in various global markets and India due to the transition to stricter emission norms.

Srivastava had said that the prices of precious metals like rhodium have increased from Rs 18,000 a gram in May 2020 to almost Rs 64,300 a gram in July.