Maruti, General Motors hike vehicle prices by up to Rs 17,000

Auto majors Maruti Suzuki and General Motors India have increased the prices of various models by up to Rs 17,000 to offset rising input costs and the impact of currency fluctuation.

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has hiked prices of its vehicles across models, except for entry-level sedan DZire, by between 0.3 per cent and 3.4 per cent. This translates into a minimum increase of Rs 2,400 on the SX4 sedan and a maximum of Rs 17,000 on the diesel variant of its Swift hatchback.

When contacted, a spokesperson of MSI said the price hike is effective from yesterday. The company had stated it would hike the prices of its models to offset the impact of rising input costs and foreign exchange fluctuation.

Before the hike, the SX4 sedan was priced between Rs 7 lakh and Rs 9.11 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), while the Swift diesel was available at prices ranging from Rs 5.27 lakh to Rs 6.47 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for different variants.

The company's best-selling Alto model will also become dearer by Rs 4,000 vis-a-vis the current price tag of between Rs 2.32 lakh and Rs 3.31 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Maruti sells a variety of models, ranging from the M800, which starts at a price of Rs 1.97 lakh, to the top-end Kizashi, which comes with a price tag of Rs 17.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The company has not touched the price of the DZire sedan as it will launch a new version next month.

GM India has also increased product prices by between 0.5 per cent and 1.75 per cent for models including the Spark, Beat, Cruze and Tavera, translating into an increase ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 15,000.

General Motors India Vice-President P Balendran said: "We have also hiked the prices from yesterday of select models. The increase will range between 0.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent."

He said the step was necessary to offset rising input costs and mitigate the impact of currency fluctuation.

After the hikes, the company's entry-level small car Spark, which was priced between Rs 3.24 lakh and Rs 4.04 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), will become dearer by about Rs 3,000.
GM India's best-selling model, the Beat Diesel, will become costlier by up to Rs 10,500. It was earlier priced between Rs 4.29 lakh and Rs 5.45 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

He further said the company's mid-sized Cruze sedan will become costlier by Rs 15,000 vis-a-vis its existing price tag of Rs 12 lakh to Rs 14.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Multi-purpose vehicle Tavera will see a price hike of Rs 10,000 to Rs 13,000, depending on the variant, from the earlier price of Rs 6.62 lakh to Rs 7.56 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
GM India has, however, left the prices of its Aveo, Aveo UVA, Optra and Captiva SUV models unchanged.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor said it has hiked the prices of its different models, including the Liva and Etios, between 0.75 per cent and 3 per cent from January 1 onward.

Tata Motors said it has not yet increased the prices. When asked if the company planned to take similar steps in the near future, a company spokesperson said: "We cannot give any guidance."

Hyundai Motor India Ltd, which had in December said it will increase prices of its vehicles by 1.5-2 per cent from this month, however, said it has not taken the step as yet.
Honda Siel Cars India said it has no plans to increase its product prices.

Mahindra & Mahindra has already hiked the price of its latest SUV, the XUV500, by up to Rs 55,000. The model was launched last September priced at Rs 10.8 lakh to 11.95 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).