Maruti Suzuki to hike car prices from January onwards. Here is why

Maruti Suzuki is all set to increase prices of its passenger vehicle range come January of 2023. In Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing, Maruti Suzuki informed that there are cost pressures owing to overall inflation and recent regulatory requirements which has made passing on some of the impact to customers ‘imperative’.

Maruti Suzuki has informed that the price hike across its model range would vary across models come January of next year. “While the company makes maximum effort to reduce cost and partially offset the increase, it has become imperative to pass on some of the impact through a price increase," the filing reads. “The Company has planned this price increase in January, 2023 which shall vary across models."

While demand for car models across brands, body types and price brackets have been on the rise in recent times, purchase costs have also seen a steady climb over the past several months. Maruti Suzuki announced several price hikes throught he course of this year on its various models. Most others too have followed the same route. Tata Motors, for instance, announced four separate hikes this year. Hyundai increased prices of its Creta, Venue, i20 and Grand i10 NIOS in September. Kia hikes prices of its Carens MPV by up to ₹50,000 while even luxury car makers like Audi and Mercedes-Benz have announced price increases in recent past.

While price hikes do deter buying sentiments to an extent, most OEMs report a strong order bank and many of the popular models in the country still have a waiting period spanning from a month to as much as 18 months. This has been largely caused by a shortage in semiconductor chip which is now easing out, as well as by increasing demand in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic.