On Thursday, India’s Maruti Suzuki said, it will increase vehicle prices by up to ₹30,000 ($311.85) from next month due to rising production costs and continued inflation pressure.
The conflict in the Middle East has also affected global trade routes and energy markets, leading to higher prices of important raw materials and forcing companies to pass on the extra costs to customers.
With inflationary pressures now at elevated levels and the adverse cost environment persisting, the company has to pass on a portion of the increasedcosts to the market, it said in a statement.
The price hike will vary by model as Maruti, a unit of Japan’s Suzuki Motor 7269.T, seeks to offset sustained increases in input costs.
Maruti joins peers Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles TAMO.NS, Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS and Hyundai Motor India HYUN.NS, all of which announced price hikes earlier.
Last month, Maruti warned of potential impact on demand for price-sensitive entry-level cars if petrol prices rise.
Indian state-run suppliers raised petrol and diesel prices by around 4 rupees a litre last week. Although prices are deregulated in India, the government exerts significant influence on prices as the majority shareholder of the key retail companies.
($1 = 96.2000 Indian rupees)
(Inputs from Reuters)
