While the company did not specify the exact rate of hike, it said the quantum of the price increase shall vary across models.
“The company has planned to increase the prices of its cars in January 2024 on account of increased cost pressure driven by overall inflation and increased commodity prices,” it said in a statement.
“While the company makes maximum efforts to reduce cost and offset the increase, it may have to pass on some increase to the market,” it added.
Maruti Suzuki booked its highest-ever monthly sales at 1.99 lakh units in October, a 19 per cent year-on-year growth. Meanwhile, the company’s net profit rose 80.3 per cent to Rs 3,716.5 crore in the September quarter, driven by better sales, softening commodity prices, cost reduction efforts and higher non-operating income.
Maruti said it is expecting the affordability of small cars in the domestic market to come back in the next 2-3 years in the face of rising income levels of people and a growing economy, among others.During the second quarter of the current fiscal, the company registered net sales of Rs 35,535.1 crore against Rs 28,543.50 crore recorded in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, owing to higher sales volume and product mix, it noted.”And given this kind of growth (rising income levels and growing economy), I expect that the affordability factor, which was in the past the reason for small cars (sales) going down, that factor is going to gradually get eroded and in the next, maybe 2-3 years, we will find that people once again, will be able to afford a small car and the market should gradually come back,” Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava said at the post-Q2 earnings virtual media conference.
