Maruti Suzuki weighs a price hike even as demand for its cars outstrips supply

Maruti Suzuki is currently saddled with 1.75 lakh pending orders due to its production constraints, which are likely to persist for “a few more months”.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is weighing a price hike to offset higher commodity costs, even as demand for its cars outstrips supply.

The waiting period for Maruti Suzuki's mass-market cars, like the Wagon R, has stretched to beyond a month. (Reuters)

“On the commodity front, prices are going up… We are keeping a close watch due to the geopolitical scenario...,” Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer (sales & marketing) at India's largest carmaker, said during a virtual presser “But yes, in times to come, we are going to review the price increase.”

“Our endeavour as a market leader has always been to minimise the price rise” but “after a certain extent, if we are unable to somehow accommodate the cost increase, we need to pass it on to our customers.”

Banerjee didn't disclose the timeline for the price hike.

Car sales in India have been on a tear since the festive season last year, after the government reduced GST rate on small cars and SUVs to a flat 18% and 40%, respectively, as part of a wider rationalisation of the indirect tax.

Maruti Suzuki has led the charge, clocking ~20% sequential growth in monthly sales since October 2025. In fact, the New Delhi-based carmaker had reduced prices of entry-level cars (SPresso, Alto K10, WagonR and Celerio) at that time to make the most of the incoming demand.

Such has been the demand that it has outstripped supply, so much so that MSIL has had to initiate a “price protection scheme in January” for bookings.

“We were seeing first-time customers, who are coming to the four-wheeler segment, and we need to give them the opportunity to upgrade,” Banerjee said. “Hence, we have given a price protection scheme (for those who have booked their vehicles)... There will be no price increase (for those customers).”

Maruti Suzuki is currently saddled with 1.75 lakh pending orders due to its production constraints, which are likely to persist for “a few more months”. The waiting period for mass-market cars, like the Wagon R, has stretched to beyond a month. Its plants are operating even on Sundays and public holidays to catch up with the demand, Banerjee said.

“This production constraint will stay for a few more months. Our production team is working, and very soon maybe we will be able to add some more capacity and serve our customers in a shorter period,” he said.

Maruti Suzuki's second plant at its Kharkhoda, Haryana facility is scheduled to be operational by April 2026, followed by a fourth assembly line at the Gujarat. That'll unlock additional production capacity of up to 5 lakh units annually.

Maruti Suzuki sales in January 2026

At 2,36,963 units, Maruti Suzuki clocked its highest ever monthly sales in January 2026, largely on the back of exports—also at a record.

“We got bookings of over 2.78 lakh units, a 25% YoY growth... That market is giving us around 9,000 to 10,000 bookings every day,” Banerjee said.

According to Maruti Suzuki, the wider car industry in India is expected to clock a compounded annual growth rate of 6-7% in FY26.

“However, seeing the commodity prices, which are right now shooting up, we need to wait and watch how the geopolitical scenario happens, then maybe a better forecast can be given,” Banerjee said.