Buying Maruti cars has become expensive as the company has increased the prices of all models from April 1 due to an increase in input costs. The country’s largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki, has registered a decline in the sales of its vehicles, selling 1,70,071 vehicles in March 2022, which is less than the 1,70,395 units sold in March 2021.
The company had earlier increased the ex-showroom prices of all models by 1.1% on January 16. The estimated weighted average increase of all models is approximately 0.8%, calculated using ex-showroom Delhi prices. The company attributed the price increase to inflation and changing regulatory norms. Maruti’s popular cars include Wagon R, Baleno, Swift, Dzire, Espresso, and Alto.
Honda-Tata has also announced a price hike, and other automakers like Honda Cars, Tata Motors, and Hero MotoCorp had already announced the same from April. From April 1, onboard self-diagnostic devices have become mandatory in vehicles to monitor real-time driving emission levels and comply with higher emission standards, which also raised the prices.
Maruti Suzuki India has discontinued its entry-level model Alto 800, which was one of the best-selling hatchbacks, as it was financially impractical to upgrade it to meet the BS6 Phase II norms. The company is yet to make any official announcement, but according to India Today, the automaker has stopped producing the best-selling car in the hatchback segment. The Alto K10 will now be available in Maruti’s lineup in the entry-level segment.
