India’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has announced its plans to hike raise prices across its car models in October 2012. The move is in response to the foreign exchange fluctuations with regard to the Indian rupee and the increment in the input costs for the automaker.
According to Mr. Mayank Pareek Chief Operating Officer (Marketing and Sales) Maruti Suzuki India, the automaker is facing a lot of pressure on its margins as a result of the fluctuations in foreign exchange and the rise in the input costs.
The company’s decision follows the decision by Honda Cars India to increase prices on three of its car models by 0.2-2.6 percent effective from October 1, 2012. Honda has also stated similar reasons for raising its prices.
Japanese carmaker Maruti Suzuki is also pushing at decreasing production and import costs by reducing imports and focusing on localization. The company is also considering expansion of its export activities to offset the unfavorable foreign exchange fluctuation.