Maruti hikes prices of its models as input costs rise

INDIA'S largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, on Monday raised prices of most of its models to offset the rising cost of inputs such as steel.

The price hike ranges from Rs 1,000 on the Zen Estilo and Wagon R hatchback to Rs 18,000 on its sedan Swift Dzire. The company had launched the Swift Dzire sedan with an introductory price ranging from Rs 4.49 lakh to Rs 6 lakh across different variants, which has now been withdrawn, a Maruti dealer said.

Maruti has also hiked the prices of all petrol variants of hatchback Swift, SX4 and Gypsy by Rs 9,000, while the price of the diesel version of Swift has been raised by Rs 15,000. It has also increased the price of all variants of Zen Estilo and WagonR LPG by Rs 1,000 and of Alto and M800 by Rs 1,500.

Prices of all variants of Omni and WagonR Petrol have also been hiked by Rs 2,000 and that of multi- utility vehicle Versa by Rs 8,000. The price increases, which spared the Grand Vitara SUV, came into effect at the weekend, he said.

Maruti's managing director, Shinzo Nakanishi, had said in April that the car maker was negotiating with steel companies on new contracts, for which it faced up to a 40 per cent price increase. Earlier, Maruti had cut prices of some of its models, after the government reduced excise duty on small cars.