Maruti Suzuki hikes prices of cars across models

NEW DELHI: India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki on Thursday announced a price hike across models. The price change is being undertaken, “owing to increase in commodity and distribution costs and adverse foreign exchange rates,” a company representative said.
The price increase in Maruti Suzuki cars will vary across models and is up to Rs 6,100 (ex-showroom Delhi).The new prices are effective immediately.
"While Maruti Suzuki's popular models are 98 per cent localised, one has to take into account the fact that the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) import some of their raw materials and the adverse currency impact of that, they would be passing on to the company," a source told TOI.

Earlier in the day, the rupee which has been getting battered against the US dollar fell to an all-time low of 70.32. Importers are adversely affected when the local currency weakens, as they have to shell out more to buy dollars which in turn finances the shipments from overseas.
Some cars like the company's hatchback Swift's diesel variant will not see any immediate increase in price, the source said. On the other hand the car that will see the highest price increase is Maruti Suzuki's compact SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) Brezza (which is only available in diesel) with a Rs 6,100 hike. The Brezza is one of the most popular cars from the Maruti Suzuki stable and the best-selling car in its segment.
In the meantime, German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz also announced earlier in the day that it will undertake price hikes across models by up to 4 per cent from September. "The rising inflation due to geo-political dynamics, coupled with rising input costs and increasing forex rates has been exerting significant pressure on overall operations," a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson said. Emerging market currencies across the world have been feeling the heat in the wake of a rout in the Turkish currency lira, which has been fueled further by US sanctions.
Other carmakers such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Honda too announced price hikes citing rising input costs, which came into effect from this month.