Maruti likely to hike small car prices amid cost pressures

India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, is likely to hike the prices of its small cars amid rising cost pressures. According to the brand, the smaller models in its line-up had a waiting period of almost one month in March 2026. “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 and sales at Maruti Suzuki, told our sister publication Autocar Professional.

1. Rising input costs play a key role
2. Small cars form a major chunk of Maruti’s sales
3. Such models accounted for 83,530 units in March 2026

Why is Maruti Suzuki likely to hike prices?

The ongoing Middle East conflict is bound to have an impact too

As its bread-and-butter segment, the demand for Maruti Suzuki’s affordable small cars has been historically high among price-conscious buyers in urban and rural areas alike. “So far, we are seeing that tailwinds are still there; headwinds are not there because we have got pending orders to the tune of 1.9 lakh, and the market is pretty buoyant. On production, right now, we are good, but on the cost part, there is an impact,” Banerjee told Autocar Professional.

AI-generated image used for representation.

Maruti Suzuki has been facing rising input costs of late, most of which can be attributed to currency fluctuations and logistical complexities. Both of these factors have come to the forefront as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East nears its fifth week, affecting trade and commerce across different parts of the globe. The crisis has also impacted crude oil prices, which, along with soaring costs for other raw materials and supplies, raise input costs for automakers.

In his conversation with Autocar Professional, Banerjee stated that Maruti had chosen to not increase prices, keeping “first-time buyers” in mind. Other (mass-market and luxury) carmakers that have already announced price hikes for April 2026 include MG Motor, Tata Motors, BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz.

Maruti Suzuki sales

GST 2.0 had lowered prices of the brand’s most affordable models

Small cars consistently feature among Maruti’s bestsellers, including the likes of the Celerio, Wagon R, Swift, Baleno and Dzire. This segment accounted for 83,530 units in March 2026 alone, while the cumulative sales in FY2026 (April 2025 to March 2026) stood at 9,20,393 units. Moreover, the Dzire was the country’s bestselling car with total sales of 2.3 lakh units in FY2026. Maruti’s smaller models had become more affordable after the rollout of GST 2.0 in September 2025, further bolstering numbers for the brand.