Maruti to Raise Small Car Prices Amid Production Challenges and Input Cost Pressures

Amid input cost pressures and geopolitical tensions in the Gulf region, Maruti Suzuki is set to increase prices for its small cars.The company said that although demand for hatchbacks remains strong, boosted by GST rate cuts, rising input costs could pose a significant challenge.

“In the small car segment in H2, we had very good growth of almost 12%. The company’s supply chain is actively managing production challenges. The traction is very good, even in the month of March, we have a waiting period of almost one month. But very soon, we are going to review that we need to increase the prices and pass it on to our customers,” Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer – Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki, said.  

Maruti Suzuki’s small car segment sold 83,530 units in March 2026, up 6.3% from 78,561 units in March 2025. For the full financial year 2025-26, small car sales rose 2.7% to 920,393 units from 896,507 units in FY25. Overall, the company recorded its highest-ever total sales of 2,422,713 units, including domestic sales of 1,861,704 units and exports of 447,774 units. 

He added that the company had extended its “strategic pricing” in January as there were any first-time buyers coming into the fold. “But the management will very soon be taking a call to increase prices since there is a pressure. Our other OEM partners have increased the prices. But keeping in mind the first-time buyers, we have been holding it on,” he said.

Banerjee said that the small car segment customers are very price sensitive and with the reduction in the GST, there was a huge demand for the small cars. “In fact, we were not geared up to meet the production demand. So far we are seeing that tailwinds are still there, headwinds are not there because we have got a pending orders to the tune of 1.9 lakhs and the market is pretty buoyant. On production, right now we are good but on the cost part, there is an impact,” he said. 

Several carmakers in India have announced price hikes effective April 2026, making the start of the new financial year a typical trigger for industry-wide revisions. Companies across both mass-market and luxury segments—including Tata Motors, JSW MG Motor India, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Honda—have either already increased prices or confirmed hikes this month, largely due to rising input costs, logistics expenses and currency fluctuations. Tata Motors has raised prices of its internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger vehicles by around 0.5%, while JSW MG Motor India has implemented hikes of up to 2% on select models.

Luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi have also increased prices by up to 2% across their portfolios, citing similar cost pressures and the weakening rupee.