Maruti Suzuki will increase the prices of its passenger cars once again this year in India citing rising input costs
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) stated in a regulatory filing that it will hike the prices of its passenger cars in the second quarter of this financial year (July to September 2021 period). As per dealer sources, the prices will be increased as early as next week and the steep rise in various input costs will be cited as the reason for the new hike.
The largest carmaker in the country indicated in the regulatory filing that over the past year, the cost of the company’s vehicles continued to be “adversely impacted” due to the increase in various input costs. Hence, it has become “imperative for the company to pass on some impact of the above additional cost to customers through a price rise.”
With the steady increase in petrol and diesel prices and the reemergence of the health crisis, automobile manufacturers have certainly lost the momentum they had in the later portion of the last calendar year. Despite finding it really tough, they are on a road to recovery and the festive season could turn things around once again and bring back the much-needed volumes.
Back in January 2021, the Indo-Japanese manufacturer hiked the prices of its models up to Rs. 34,000 and another hike was implemented three months later. Maruti Suzuki is banking big on expanding its S-CNG portfolio to appeal to the customers wanting high fuel economy and this FY, it has planned to produce more than two and a half lakh CNG-powered cars.
This is at an increase of 60 per cent compared to the previous fiscal. Hyundai is hoping to triple its CNG sales to around 35,000 units this calendar year as well and Tata Motors has already been caught on camera testing the CNG-spec Tiago and Tigor on public roads. Up next, Maruti Suzuki is expected to launch the new generation Celerio around September.
It will likely be based on the lightweight Heartect platform enabling bigger overall proportions. Compared to the outgoing model, it will have an assortment of changes inside and out. It is expected to be powered by the 1.2-litre petrol engine producing 83 PS and 113 Nm along with the regular 67 PS 1.0-litre motor. Both five-speed manual and AMT will more likely be available.