Maruti hikes car prices

NEW DELHI: Under pressure from increasing input and freight costs, car market leader Maruti on Tuesday hiked prices of certain models, including the popular 'Alto' and 'M800', ranging between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000.

The increase, with effect from today, varies from 0.17 per cent to 1.47 per cent, and is necessitated due to rise in input costs and freight costs.

The company said while it had absorbed a portion of the increased costs, it has decided to pass on a part of this to customers.

 Post the price hike, MUL's best selling model 'Alto' and 'M800' will be dearer by Rs 500 across all variants.

The higest price hike is on the newly-launched 'WagonR LPG' variant, which will be costlier by Rs 5,000, while the mid-size sedan 'Esteem' will see a rise of Rs 1,000 across all variants.

 It will also hike prices of 'Omni' across all variants ranging between Rs 500 and Rs 3,000, the company said in a press release.

It, however, said there would be no change in the prices of 'Swift', 'Zen', 'Baleno (Vxi)' and 'WagonR (Petrol)'.

Last month, its Maruti's nearest rival Hyundai Motors India had also hiked prices of its models, including the 'Santro' model.