Maruti increases prices of mass segment cars, Nexa less hit

MUMBAI: The price hike of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd's mass segment or Arena range of cars has outpaced the hike in the India's largest carmaker's premium segment, trade sources told Cogencis.

On Monday, Maruti Suzuki had announced increasing prices of its models by up to 34,000 rupees, but did not give model-specific numbers.

The company has raised the prices of its WagonR variants by up to 23,200 rupees, Swift by up to 30,000 rupees and Celerio by up to 19,000 rupees, the sources said.

These cars account for 70% of Maruti Suzuki's total sales and their hike in terms of percentage would come to 3-4%. For its most affordable car, Alto, Maruti Suzuki increased prices by 3.0-3.5%, or 5,000-14,000 rupees, depending on the variant, the sources said.

The carmaker has also increased the price of the Ertiga by up to 34,000 rupees, the highest hike across its portfolio, market sources said.

Maruti Suzuki has raised the price of the premium Nexa range by 3,000-26,000 rupees. While the price of the Ignis has been hiked by around 1.5% or 3,000-11,000 rupees, that of the Baleno has been increased by around 3% or 5,000-26,500 rupees. Maruti Suzuki has kept the price of its sports utility vehicle SCross unchanged, and increased the price of automatic variants of the XL6 by around 10,000 rupees.

The price of the company's saloon car Ciaz has been increased by around 2.4% or 26,500 rupees.

Analysts believe price hikes in the mass segment indicate Maruti Suzuki's intention to hold on to operating margins by leaning on its market dominance.

An overall rise in prices of diesel hatchbacks with the adoption of Bharat Stage-VI emission norms also lifted sales of Maruti Suzuki's models in Oct-Dec as the company has only petrol and compressed natural gas engines.