Maruti Suzuki considering price hike as demand for its cars exceeds supply Business News & more related News Here

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is considering a price hike to offset higher commodity costs, even as demand for its cars exceeds supply.

“On the commodity front, prices are rising…we are keeping a close watch because of the geopolitical scenario…” But yes, in the times to come, we are going to review the price rise, Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer (sales and marketing) of India’s largest carmaker, said during a virtual presser.

“Our endeavor as a market leader has always been to minimize price increases” but “after a certain point, if we are unable to somehow accommodate the cost increases, we need to pass it on to our customers.”

Banerjee did not disclose the timeline of the price hike.

Car sales in India have declined since the festive season last year, when the government reduced the GST rate on small cars and SUVs to 18% and 40% respectively as part of a broader rationalization of indirect tax.

Maruti Suzuki has led the charge, registering ~20% sequential growth in monthly sales from October 2025. In fact, the New Delhi-based carmaker had reduced the prices of its entry-level cars (Espresso, Alto K10, WagonR and Celerio) at that time to make the most of the incoming demand.

demand > supply

Its demand has increased so much that it has far exceeded its supply, so much so that MSIL has had to launch a “Price Protection Scheme in January” for bookings.

“We are seeing customers who are coming to the four-wheeler segment for the first time and we need to give them an opportunity to upgrade,” Banerjee said. “Therefore, we have given a price protection plan (for those who have booked their vehicles)… There will be no price increase (for those customers).”

Maruti Suzuki is currently struggling with 1.75 lakh pending orders due to its production bottlenecks, which is likely to continue for “a few more months”. The waiting period for mass-market cars like the Wagon R has increased to more than a month. Banerjee said its plants are also working on Sundays and public holidays to meet the demand.

“This disruption in production will last for a few more months. Our production team is working, and very soon perhaps we will be able to add some more capacity and serve our customers in a shorter period,” he said.

Maruti Suzuki’s second plant in Kharkhoda, Haryana is scheduled to be operational by April 2026, followed by the fourth assembly line in Gujarat. This will open up additional production capacity of up to 5 lakh units annually.

“We got bookings for over 2.78 lakh units, which is a growth of 25% year-on-year… That market is giving us around 9,000 to 10,000 bookings every day,” Banerjee said.

According to Maruti Suzuki, the broader car industry in India is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 6-7% in FY26.

“However, given the commodity prices which are rising now, we will have to wait and see how the geopolitical scenario plays out before perhaps a better forecast can be given,” Banerjee said.